• 114 school are on alert (2-4 active cases) (+4)
• 15 schools are on outbreak with 5-9 active cases (+2)
• 4 school is on outbreak with over 10 active cases (+0)

• Here to lay out additional health measures which are necessary to protect healthcare system and save lives
• Alberta has faced most of the year with lower levels of spread, hospitalizations, and fatalities
• Having said that, last few weeks are different
• Incredible work is being done by healthcare workers in face of this
• Delays in surgeries have occurred, which for some may result in a shorter lifespan
• Not doing anything now will result in continued growth of hospitalizations and further strain on healthcare
• On advice of chief medical officer, restrictions have occurred. Government realizes that this can impact businesses and cause adversities
• Knows many feed policies are unjust and why provincial government has stressed education first instead of using policy
• On the other hand, while space can be made, it will have further health impacts (e.g. running out of capacity in hospitals)
• If stronger action isn't taken now, hundreds or thousands more Albertans will die
• Data appears to suggest a stabilization (around a reproductive factor of around 1.2), but that isn't enough

• As of today, all outdoor and indoor social gatherings are banned
• The mask mandate will expand to all indoor places, with exception of rental homes and farm operations
• As of December 13th, 12:01 AM:
• (1) Retail, grocery stores, and shopping malls are restricted to 15% of capacity, down from 25%. Kiosks are open for takeaway service only. Malls cannot be used for socialization and shopping only
• (2) Places are worship to 15% occupancy with previous restrictions applying. Online and drive-in services are still recommended
• (3) Restaurants, pubs, bars, lounges and cafes are restricted to takeout and delivery services only. This will open up their access to provincial and federal supports
• (4) The following will be closed:
• (4a) Gaming centres (e.g. - casinos, bingo halls, gaming entertainment centres)
• (4b) Recreational facilities
• (4c) Indoor entertainment (e.g. libraries, science centres, water parks)
• (4d) Trade centres
• The restrictions do not apply to service visits, healthcare, or childcare .
• (5) All Alberta employees must work from home unless employer requires physical presence for operational reasons (up from a recommendation)
• No changes to schools beyond what was previously announced
• These are all province wide and will be in effect for 4 weeks
• Goal has been to be targeted. However, the whole province is seeing significant spread

• Knows the holidays are important for many people
• The hard truth is that the single source of spread is at-home gatherings
• If we let people gather for Christmas, we'll see a spike in cases
• We can't let that happen, so please follow the gathering restrictions previously noted (only in-household or with 2 close contacts if you live alone)

• This isn't the fault of anybody who followed the guidelines
• Until the contact tracing system was overwhelmed, we didn't see it being the fault of business owners
• But we are seeing spread so widespread, it doesn't matter how careful you were
• These are decisions are a last resort
• Knows this impact will be real. So financial support for small and medium size enterprise
• 4x growth in small and medium enterprise relaunch grant, while lowering eligibility from 40% of revenue lost to 30%. This will also be retroactive to March

• Thanks Albertans for their work for most of the past 9 months
• We are seeing the end with vaccination possibly beginning in weeks...the end is in sight

• Why now, instead of two weeks ago?: Goal is to reduce contacts, assuming Albertans respond. This should be a very strong message and reduce transmissions. Measures have been increasingly harsh because each restriction creates harms, will hurt people who have sunk all their money in a business, and potentially increase self-harm. So this is a last resort
• Why keep retail open instead of just curbside?: Encourages curbside, but some people may not be able to live without basic goods. Even most stringent policies around the world have kept retail open in some capacity. Feels the designation of essential and non-essential businesses in spring was a mistake
• Why is cabinet being transparent about the reproductive value (R or Rt)?: Are preparing ways to publicly present this data, as well as healthcare capacity. Targeting next week
• Do you think the softer measures before will cost lives/make economic recovery more difficult?: Shutting down early would have had significant impacts. Thinks it'd be a huge mistake to draw correlations between strictness of restrictions and outcomes and that there is a reasonable balance being stuck
• Since you defined Covid representing "a tiny percent" of deaths, 300 deaths have occurred. There have been significant growths in hospitalization and cases. Do you take personal responsibility?: Rejects the premise of the question and calls it more of an "NDP speech". Feels the province has done more than other jurisdictions, especially early on. Also notes that BC, who has a government of opposite end of the political spectrum, has had a similar approach

• Pandemic is "once in a century" event that has affected everyone
• Has received lots of heartbreaking/heartfelt letters and read some out of them in the meeting last night
• Letters include concerns about family impacts and economic impacts, as well as the loss of life
• Has phoned front line healthcare workers over weekend and sought out their advice
• Has noted the hesitation of further restrictions before and focus on targeted measures. The vast majority of Albertans have worked to the guidelines
• Spread is speeding up and is significant at long term care. We need to do "everything we can" to protect them. That requires dedicated work from the community
• Must also protect healthcare system. Healthcare system is at risk, and Edmonton Zone is an example of the trade offs that now must be made. Other services will have to be put on hold if the trend continues, even with the spending in it
• Measures below were not taken lightly. These are the "minimum restrictions needed" right now to protect healthcare system and avoiding widespread damage to livelihoods

• Declaring a State of Public Health Emergency in the province of Alberta
• Series of mandatory measures also approved:
• For social gatherings: No indoor social gatherings will be permitted in any setting and outdoor social gatherings will have a limit of 10 people
• For funerals and weddings: 10 in-person limit and no receptions will be permitted
• Social events have been one of the biggest driver of cases. Weddings and funerals are one of the biggest widespread drivers of transmission ("This is just a reality")
• These social gathering restrictions are province-wide and can be subjected to fines
• An emergency alert will be sent to all Alberta phones this week to make Albertans aware
• Gatherings of worship services will be capped of 1/3 of Fire Code with mandatory masking if region is under enhanced status. This is now mandatory. This will be evaluated mid-December
• Effective Friday, for regions under enhanced status, three temporary restrictions will be added at businesses and services:
• (1) The following will be closed: banquet halls, conference centres, trade shows, concert venues, community centres. All levels of sport too, but must apply and have an approved exemption
• (2) Retail businesses and services will be limited to 25% of occupancy limit
• (3) Hair salons, personal wellness services, hotels, and professional services will be limited by-appointment
• In-person dining and bars can continue, but must abide by guideline. Each dining tables will be limited to 1 household
• Asking all workers that can work from home to do so. Government of Alberta will do so
• These will be reviewed in mid-December
• On November 30th, Grades 7-12 will end in-person schooling for 2020 and Winter break will begin December 18. In-person learning will be delayed until January 11, 2021

• Effective immediately, masks are mandatory in Edmonton and Calgary Zone
• The measures are tough, but necessary to protect Albertans from a "crushing lockdown"
• Knows this will be hard and encourages people to shop local
• Will give a chance to review before Christmas
• If the measures do not have meaningful impact, further restrictions will be made in December

• Alberta has had some of the least stringent measures and highest cases rates. Is today's announcement that it failed? Why are we doing the "minimum"?: Thinks the response has been effective for a long stretch of time. Obviously an issue has cropped up in the past few weeks. Also notes a "chase after 0 [cases]" shutdown won't be the goal and that restrictions and interventions, in accordance with Charter of Rights, should be limited to minimizing infringement of rights to achieve a goal
• How will you enforce gathering restrictions?: No "snitch line", but will be expanding enforcement officers (Level 1 and 2 peace officers) to enforce orders and writing the tickets (up to $1,000/person). Anticipates officers will see if obvious "large gathering signs" will be noticed
• How is in-person dining not "indoor gatherings"? How do you feel about doctors recommending closing in-person dining?: Notes dining is one household and limited spread in dining centres and asks those with a secure paycheck ("particularly a government paycheck") to think about those who sink life savings in dining services
• Why are stores being restricted if they are not a significant cause of spread?: Compares well to other provinces who have fully closed retail. Thinks it was a grave mistake to allow big box stores to remain open because they had grocery/pharmaceutical sections while small businesses must close. That said, restrictions must be made to limit social spread
• Due to challenges with Albertan spread information, what data is being used to make the decisions?: Points to data from previous 8 months
• Are you confident that these measures will control cases by December 15?: Yes. Notes the challenging balance between infringement of rights and controlling cases. Also hopes this will be a "wake up call" to those not following the guidelines
• (Interjection - I felt this was important and it needs to be separated from the above question). Kenney recognizes he will get quite a few people "on [his] Facebook page" angry at the restrictions. Wants to emphasize this is not a lockdown. Nor is this an abstraction. If you know someone waiting for surgery, this is to protect them. It's not about politics, but for them. It's not something he wants to do and is upset about the situation. But it's not enough to complain. Challenges people to explain how to grapple with timely healthcare access if Covid continues to spread and more need care

• How bad will it have to be to announce a lockdown?: Would like to avoid it if possible. Key metric will be hospitalization (in particular, ICU), measured against capacity. (Interjection - The wording of the rest of the response was focused on more targeted measures if these restrictions do not limit spread within 3 weeks)
• Are there specific thresholds for lift measures/add more measures?: On 15th of December, reproductive value (R) must be <1 to lift measures. Ideal target is 0.80. We are currently at 1.3 in Edmonton, 1.1 in Calgary

• Where is Alberta when it comes to vaccine and rapid testing?: Alberta depends on the federal government. Notes disappointment in the slow roll out of rapid testing (though 577,000 tests have been delivered). Hopes to announce more roll out details in the week. For vaccine, Oxford trial has also headed to mass production (giving Canada 3 incoming vaccines). When it arrives, will likely begin with healthcare workers and vulnerable populations

• Expresses gratitude to church leaders
• Recommendation for testing apply only to those who attended from August 9 to 23
• Children who attended church during that time should temporarily stay at home
• Has heard individuals from the group have been stigmatized, potentially hurting control of this or future outbreaks

• Casinos/Racing entertainment centres: Table games are allowed, provided physical distancing, barriers, and other health measures are followed as stated online
• Decision made based on transmission in Alberta vs places with table games. Haven't seen transmission issues locally and haven't seen significant transmission in places with table games
• Continuing Care: Operators can shift to a "risk based approach" when residents are brought back to site (as opposed to a "measure of time" analysis). Facilities can permit volunteer on site
• Notes a need to balance all aspects of health, including social connections. Visitors have not been a significant trend and outbreaks are more related to community spread transmitting to staff
• Examples: Cabin visit (travelling and staying alone) is low risk, day trip to large family gathering is high risk. These examples would be were categorized against one's intuition based on previous orders
• Urges patience while order gets in place. It will come into place in 2 weeks and some centres may need time to implement

• Understands a mix of emotions going forward
• States that daily health assessment of children is important, as is not "working through" illness
• Understands this can be difficult, but states that it is important for controlling Covid-19

• Why are meat plants seeing outbreaks again?: interesting question, is currently looking into it. Specifically notes that an issue may be losing income when sick and specifically notes that we may "need to think about" advocating for "appropriate approaches to the CERB benefit"
• Should we continue working from home?: should be a discussion between employee/employer based on context
• Asked about details in an outbreak in the Calgary Drop In Centre: 5 cases. AHS working with shelter to isolate cases and notify close contacts. May not have been transmission in centre, but awaiting details from local authority
• How long should a student be allowed to have "breaks" from masking: physical exercise is a good example, though physical distancing is required. If you have concerns, bring them to school board
• Asked about "pandemic fatigue": Feeling of frustration is certainly very real as we don't see an endgame. Understands the sentiments, especially around Order 33. Sympathizes with those who wish Covid could go away and encourages seeking out activities that "recharge" you within the limits given as we are still waiting for a vaccine or a very effective way to control severe outcomes

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Monday, Dec 16th