Coronavirus: Alberta officials provide update on response to new COVID-19 variants | FULL

Health Minister Tyler Shandro joined Alberta’s chief medical officer of health on Monday to provide an update on the COVID-19 situation in the province.

Shandro began the update by discussing the province’s response to two new variants of COVID-19. To date, Alberta has identified 20 cases of the variant first identified in the United Kingdom, and five of the variant first identified in South Africa.

According to Shandro, one Alberta case involving the U.K. variant is not linked to travel at this point in time.

Modelling data released by Shandro shows that if the new variants were active in Alberta, the province could see up to 10,217 new cases per day within a month and a half if no health measures are in place.

The province saw 362 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, with an additional 25 pandemic-related deaths reported over the previous 24 hours.

#coronavirus #COVID19 #Alberta #GlobalNews

[catherinefryatt]

We can protect the small percent of population seriously affected by Covid and
Free Alberta. 4.2999 million Albertans have had their rights taken away, livelihoods lost with out democratic process.
Surely the nursing homes and vulnerable should be on lockdown and protected not the other way around, destroying Alberta.
Protect the vulnerable Free Alberta.

[cyrene]

Why are we employing people from other provinces when supposedly we don't have enough jobs here for Albertans?

[marekrudny]

It is 7pm and there are only 30 comments. What happened to dozens more which I saw at 5pm?

[aldlconnolly]

I smell a rat. The current number of cases in Alberta is back to the same level as October 29th. Hospitalization and ICU numbers remain high but are currently equal to what they were December 8th.
Why are hospitalization / ICU numbers so high when cases have come down? Are patients being kept in hospitals longer on average than they were in September and October? Could this be the means by which Deena Hinshaw and AHS is going to keep Albertans under severe restrictions? I always say follow the money.

[mariadavis]

When is the “Alberta” variant coming up?

[yoely]

Hey everybody, who wants to play a game?
Its called the" Blame Game", it is very easy to play, and here are the rules, just throw your hands up in the air at someone and say"its not my fault we can't open up, and its the Federal Governments fault, and its the new variants of covid, that are brought in by travellers fault.
See how easy that was, now you try it.
BC again with 1, 300 new cases, and they can go to restaurants, gyms, rinks.
I don't get it, we keep get lower cases, and lower hospitalizations. Its like the Alberta Government just keep putting the carrot in front of us, and we never get it.

[timbucktoo]

When is Hinshaw going to resign? That's all I want to know. Enough of the scamdemic.

[arctichero]

Once basic human rights are given up to governments for our "safety", history teaches us that they do not give them back without a fight.

The right to protest and assemble is fundamental because this is how we get our freedom back.

[TypeSly]

Since none of us can prove it, I guess we'll just have to believe them about these "variants" and their numbers?

[stoutlager]

Enough! They made a big deal about Christmas/New Years causing a spike. It didn't happen. Then they did the same about the schools reopening. It has been two weeks now and no spike from that either. In fact the daily new cases numbers continue to rapidly drop along with a steadily falling positivity percentage. Hospitalizations and ICU are down and will continue to fall as a result of the leading indicator case counts. The Ro, which they are due to update again, will come in below the 0.8 threshold Kenney mentioned in December. Despite all that Shandro and Hinshaw want to extend restrictions because they found a SINGLE UK variant case that MIGHT be community transmission.

[lorenzolawrencesalon]

The always incompetent health minister Tyler who Jason clearly has a crush on.

[oddassembler]

I need to develop skills asap that is coveted by a better managed country...

[roselawson]

New word the variant! They know we r tired of the famous COVID 19 word!

[projectmanagement]

Vaccinated in Canada 0.21%; in Israel - 30%. Which country is the 1-st class country?

[arctichero]

“The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.” ~Albert Camus