Some indoor fitness activities by appointment only, indoor and outdoor sports and performance at schools and dine-in services at restaurants, cafes and pubs are slated to be allowed to open on Feb. 8 and the province has laid out a phased approach to further restrictions lifting in the province.
On Friday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced the province will be using hospitalization numbers as the benchmarks for reopening.
The first step is benchmarked at having 600 or less hospitalizations, with declining rates. As Alberta is now below 600 hospitalizations, Kenney said the easing of restrictions in step one, which include school-related indoor and outdoor children’s sport and performance; one-on-one indoor personal fitness by appointment only; and dine-in services for restaurants, cafes and pubs.
While the province is moving toward reopening, the premier said this is not a sign to Albertans to go back to their normal socialization patterns.
"We'll lose the progress that we made to date," Kenney said.
"This must be done carefully, slowly and in a way that's driven not by opinions but by data."
The premier said hospitalizations are being used as a benchmark to decide when to reopen, because they are a lagging indicator for COVID-19 in the province. Kenney said they are an important indicator because while the province can work hard to increase hospital beds, there are a limited number of skilled workers in the province to take care of the sick.
The premier said all Albertans should care about hospital capacity.
"This is not a big-city problem," Kenney said, adding rural patients often come to big cites for treatment.
While COVID-19 numbers are declining, Kenney said the province is not at a place yet where it can fully ease all restrictions.
When benchmark hospitalizations are reached for each phase, Kenney said the move to ease restrictions will not be automatic, but businesses will be given time to prepare. After a new step in the reopening plan is reached, the province will take three weeks to evaluate the impact of them before moving to the next step.
The province will continue to keep an eye on early indicators COVID-19 is spreading in the community, like higher daily case numbers or evidence the COVID-19 variants have spread widely in the community, and it is possible restrictions will have to be put back in place if numbers increase exponentially.
The next benchmark is 450 hospitalizations with a declining trend, which will involve further easing of restrictions set out in step one, along with the easing of restriction on retail spaces and community spaces, such as community halls, conference centres, hotels and banquets, is set at 450 hospitalizations with a declining trend.
At 300 hospitalisations with a declining trend, the province will allow further easing of restrictions set out in steps one and two, along with places of worship, adult team sports, museums, indoor seated events like movie theaters, casinos and libraries
The final phase, which Kenney said would be close to what we consider normal life, will come when hospitalizations hit 150 and declining, and involves easing restrictions around indoor entertain and play centres, workplaces, outdoor sporting events, wedding and funeral receptions, festivals, indoor concerts and sports, festivals and amusement parks.
Kenney said Albertans will have to continue their collective action to lower COVID-19 numbers to allow for public health restrictions to further relax.
"There is a path forward."
For more information on each stage of reopening, visit alberta.ca
