News

Albertans in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s are ending up in ICU with COVID-19 faster than ever before

April 27, 2021
Intensive-care admissions reach new peaks, raising concerns over variants and long-term health effects More Albertans in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s are ending up in ICU with COVID-19 than ever before, according to a breakdown of data published by Alberta Health. This comes as case rates have soared among these age groups, most of whom

Alberta reports 1,592 new cases of COVID-19, alongside 5 additional deaths

April 25, 2021
The province reported 1,592 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, and an additional five deaths. In the last 24 hours, 17,725 lab tests for COVID-19 were completed, with a positivity rate of around nine per cent.  Alberta identified another 1,132 variant cases. Of the province’s 19,702 active cases, just over 60 per cent are variants.  On

Alberta reports 1,857 COVID-19 cases, identifies B.1.617 variant infection

April 23, 2021
EDMONTON — Dr. Deena Hinshaw reported 1,857 COVID-19 cases on Thursday — Alberta’s third highest one-day count since the pandemic began. Alberta also has its first case of the B.1.617 variant first identified in Denmark and “a key driver in the rapidly spreading cases that we are seeing in India,” the chief medical officer of

Canada bans flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days

April 23, 2021
The federal government will ban passenger flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days amid rising COVID-19 case counts in India and concerns about mutations of the coronavirus. At a virtual press conference this evening, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said that because an increasing number of travellers from both countries have been arriving in Canada with COVID-19, all commercial

Canada’s border restrictions to remain in place another month, at least

April 20, 2021
OTTAWA — Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says Canada’s international and U.S. border restrictions will be in place for another month, at least. In a pair of announcements made Tuesday, Blair said that Canadian and U.S. officials have agreed to keep the border between the two countries closed to non-essential travel, as well as the

Filing 2020 taxes late could lead to months of delays for COVID-19 financial aid, says CRA

April 20, 2021
TORONTO — With all there is to worry about regarding the pandemic and our working lives, the idea of rushing to file income tax returns on time this year may seem a bit quaint. But anyone hoping to receive any of the various COVD-19 relief benefits going forward could face delays of up to two

Alberta lowering eligibility for AstraZeneca vaccine from age 55 to 40 Tuesday

April 19, 2021
CALGARY — More than 500,000 additional Albertans will be eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Tuesday after Premier Jason Kenney said in a tweet Sunday evening the province is lowering the benchmark age to qualify for the AstraZeneca vaccine from 55 to 40 years old. The decision comes on the heels of a similar announcement from

Get vaccinated. It’s safe and easy.

April 15, 2021
Get vaccinated. Everyone 55+ and many Albertans 16+ with health conditions can book now. Find out when you can too. COVID-19 vaccines help prevent you from getting infected and protect you from getting severely sick if you do get it. All vaccines are safe, effective and save lives. Albertans are being vaccinated in phases so people

Travellers’ frustrations mount as Canada’s new hotel quarantine rules take effect

February 24, 2021
OTTAWA — A new Canadian health order requiring a three-day hotel quarantine for air travellers got off to a rocky start on Monday, as some passengers complained of long waits to access the hotel-booking system. Across Canada and abroad, travellers spoke of disconnected calls and hours or even days waiting on the line to make

10K vaccinations booked so far despite website crashing after registration opens for Alberta seniors

February 24, 2021
CALGARY — Registration opened Wednesday morning for Alberta seniors to book vaccination appointments, but the system crashed within minutes, leaving many frustrated. “As anticipated, we are experiencing very high volumes with the AHS COVID-19 immunization booking tool,” officials wrote on social media. “The tool remains live. If you are having trouble accessing the site, please