Alberta Is Dropping 'Almost All' COVID-19 Restrictions Tomorrow & Here's All The New Changes
This is what you can — and can't — do from March 1.
Alberta has confirmed it will be dropping "almost all" COVID-19 restrictions in the province from March 1.
On Saturday, February 26, Premier Jason Kenney said it was safe to move to step two of the province’s path “back to normal” and remove the "vast majority" of remaining public health measures in Alberta.
Kenney said: “We can say with confidence that the numbers [of cases] continue to decline rapidly, despite those important measures we took three weeks ago to open up”.
Alberta started its reopening plan on February 9 with the province’s proof-of-vaccination system first to end.
Restrictions ending in the province from March 1 include requiring people to wear masks indoors.
However, masks would still be necessary for “higher-risk settings”, such as public transit, at Alberta Health Services facilities and all continuing care settings including nursing homes, Kenney explained.
Limits on social gatherings, capacity limits for venues and restrictions on interactive activities will be scrapped, as will mandatory work from home requirements for businesses.
Liquor service and operating hours at bars and restaurants will also return to normal.
In a tweet, Kenney said: “The only remaining measures will be to isolate if you're sick, plus common-sense measures like masking in hospitals, nursing homes and mass transit. Those will be lifted at Phase 3 if hospitalizations continue to fall.”
Do You Need To Wear A Mask In Alberta?
The City of Calgary mask bylaw is also set to end on March 1.
Susan Henry, chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency said she was “cautiously optimistic” about entering a new stage of the pandemic.
However, the City of Edmonton said on Twitter that its mask bylaw will stay in place until “further action is taken.”