Visitor restrictions in Alberta Health Services facilities are set to get more strict on Monday to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
In the wake of surging cases in Alberta, AHS will be allowing one designated support person for all patients in acute care settings and two support persons for critical care, pediatrics and in the neonatal ICU.
"We know these restrictions will be difficult, especially during the holiday season, but they are needed to stop spread of the virus and to keep patients safe," Alberta chief medical officer of health Deena Hinshaw said.
"We must do everything possible to bend down the curve, there is no other option."
The new restrictions come just days before many of the most recent restrictions go into place, including the closing of in-person dining services, casinos, recreation facilities and businesses offering personal services. The restrictions will be in place for at least four weeks.
Hinshaw said Albertans should not wait until midnight on Sunday to start doing their part and encouraged residents to not to rush to malls or plan gatherings in advance of restrictions coming into effect.
The province-wide mask mandate and ban on all private and public social gatherings went into effect after they were announced on Tuesday afternoon.
On Friday, Alberta reported 1,738 new cases of COVID-19, with 20,161 active cases across the province.
There are currently 684 people in the hospital and 123 of those are in the intensive care unit (ICU)
In the past 24 hours, another 18 Albertans died from the disease.
Some 21,000 tests were run in the past 24 hours with a provincial positivity rate of 8.3 per cent.
There are currently 458 schools with active alerts or outbreaks, which accounts for 19 per cent of school in the province.
In total, there are 1,947 active cases in provincial schools.
To help curb the spread of the virus, the province has launched new ads urging Albertans not to gather over the holidays.
"Our goal is to get people's attention, to help them see common situations from a different perspective, and as a result to influence their behaviour," Hinshaw said.
"The campaign uses humour because the situation is serious and we need to use every tool at our disposal to reach all Albertans."
The ads target Albertans between the ages of 20 and 39.
