Watch this page throughout the day for updates on COVID-19 in Calgary
Newsroom Staff
People spend the warm and sunny day along the pond at Prince’s Island Park on Saturday, May 15, 2021.Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia
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With news on COVID-19 happening rapidly, weve created this page to bring you our latest stories and information on the outbreak in and around Calgary.
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My COVID Story: How have you been impacted by coronavirus?
Postmedia is looking to speak with people who may have been impacted by COVID-19 here in Alberta. Have you had an upcoming surgery postponed? Do you have a family member in the ICU, or have you recovered after spending time in the ICU? Have you changed your life for the better because of the pandemic? Send us an email at reply@calgaryherald.com to tell us your experience, or send us a message via this form.
Read our ongoing coverage of personal stories arising from the pandemic.
Calgary pastor arrested after months of defying COVID-19 restrictions
Fairview Baptist Church. Sunday, May 16, 2021.Photo by Brendan Miller/Postmedia
Fairview Baptist Church Pastor Tim Stephens was arrested by Calgary police Sunday afternoon after he failed to comply with public health measures and hosted another church service without proper mask use, capacity limits or physical distancing.
Calgary police said they arrested the pastor at the church, which is located at 230 78 Avenue S.E., following a church service that violated the public health measures and a pre-emptive injunction. Stephens was served a copy of the Court of Queens Bench Order, which was obtained by Alberta Health Services to target organizers of gatherings in breach of the health rules, last weekend.
The pastor acknowledged the injunction, but chose to move forward with todays service, ignoring requirements for social distancing, mask-wearing and reduced capacity limits for attendees, Calgary police said in a joint news release with AHS on Sunday.
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This is not the first time Fairview Baptist Church has defied public health orders.
Province reports 1,140 new cases; ICU numbers increase as overall hospitalizations decline
Alberta reported 1,140 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, which brought the number of active cases provincewide to 22,280. Of those active cases, 10,515 are in the Calgary zone.
Despite a decline of overall hospitalizations on Sunday, the number of intensive-care unit admissions reached a new peak. There are now 647 COVID-19 patients in hospital, which is down from the 686 in hospital on Saturday. ICU admissions increased, however, from 178 on Saturday to 186 by Sunday.
Three additional deaths were reported, bringing the provinces death toll to 2,143.
Read more.
Grey Eagle Drive-In to resume, but frustrations persist around Alberta rules
Wes Shaw, left, and Jeff Langford, who co-own the High River Sunset Drive-In with Roger Hamel (not pictured), were photographed on Sunday, May 16, 2021.Photo by Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia
A drive-in movie theatre on Tsuutina Nation is reopening after the First Nations council gave drive-in events the green light.
But other Alberta drive-ins are questioning COVID-19 restrictions that have temporarily halted operations in recent days.
The Grey Eagle Drive-In will resume film screenings starting Wednesday, after the Tsuutina Nation chief and council approved the events Sunday. Tsuutina may determine which activities can take place on their lands as a sovereign First Nation.
The drive-in, located near the Grey Eagle Casino, cancelled several planned screenings after receiving notice Thursday evening that all drive-in events were banned in regions with high case numbers under new COVID-19 restrictions.
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On Friday, after some drive-in theatres were informed they would have to halt operations, Alberta Health told Postmedia the rules were in place because of the risk of people leaving their cars to mingle. They reiterated the reasoning Sunday, saying the measure is temporary but necessary to help bend down the curve one more time.
The ban applies in regions considered to have high case rates. It extends to drive-in graduations, but not drive-in worship services.
Jeff Langford is an operator of the High River Sunset Drive-In. He said the business only received notice they had to close down at the eleventh hour Saturday night. Business partners have struggled to reach public health officials for clarity around the rules.
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Thousands of Alberta workers have claimed compensation for COVID-19 infection: WCB
A masked pedestrian crosses the Centre Street in downtown Calgary on Friday, April 16, 2021.Photo by Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia
The Alberta Workers Compensation Board has approved more than 8,000 claims related to workplace acquisition of COVID-19, with hundreds of Albertans missing weeks of work due to their illness, data show.
The WCB report shows through the end of April 2021, the board accepted 8,288 claims for workers with novel coronavirus illness arising in the course of their employment. About 11 per cent of those claims resulted in workers missing more than 21 days of work, and about two per cent were out of work for more than 60 days.
These are workers with long COVID, an illness where patients can experience debilitating symptoms of the virus weeks or even months after they first become sick.
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On average, workers were away from the job for an average of 15.1 days. The WCB also accepted 12 fatality claims for workplace-acquired COVID-19.
Read more.
GraceLife church continuing to gather as Alberta steps up enforcement against scofflaws
A woman chanting as a crowd of about 400 gathered outside GraceLife Church on the first Sunday after the closure west of the Edmonton city limits, April 11, 2021.Photo by Ed Kaiser/Postmedia
GraceLife Church of Edmonton is continuing to hold services despite having their church shuttered and Alberta putting a stronger emphasis on enforcing public health measures.
Despite the closure, the church has uploaded YouTube videos each week over the past month showing Pastor James Coates delivering sermons in undisclosed locations. A video of last Sundays service shows Coates delivering a nearly hour-long sermon in front of a grey background. No one else can be seen in the video, but others can be heard in the background on multiple occasions. In past videos, parts of a crowd can be seen watching the sermons.
Representatives for GraceLife did not return requests for comment. In the first video after Alberta Health Services seized the church, Coates begins his sermon by saying They can take our facility, but well just find another one.
Alberta Health Services spokesman Kerry Williamson said they are aware of the videos being posted online but they cannot currently enforce health measures for these gatherings.
AHS Environmental Public Health can only investigate if we have an address or location. We currently do not have that, said Williamson.
Read more.
Fortins departure unlikely to slow down Canadas vaccine rollout operation, says expert
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin participates in a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021.Photo by Justin Tang /Canadian Press
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The sudden departure of the senior military officer in charge of Canadas vaccine rollout is unlikely to slow down the high-profile operation, an expert in military affairs said Saturday.
Christian Leuprecht, a professor at Queens University in Kingston, Ont., said the unexpected reassignment Friday of Maj-Gen. Dany Fortin wont affect vaccine distribution because the military always has a second in command ready to get the job done.
Read more.
Feds face calls for answers following Fortins departure from COVID-19 vaccine campaign
Major General Dany Fortin.Photo by Blair Gable/Reuters/File
The federal Liberal government is facing growing calls for answers on why the military general who was overseeing Canadas COVID-19 vaccination campaign has been sidelined, as well as who will be replacing him.
The Defence Department announced in a terse three-line statement on Friday evening that Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin was stepping aside from his role overseeing the delivery and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.
Yet the reasons for his departure were not revealed, aside from a brief mention of a military investigation.
Read more.
People with disabilities even more alone during pandemic: cerebral palsy spokeswoman
Riley Oldford, a 16-year-old who has cerebral palsy, is the first N.W.T. youth to get the Pfizer vaccine. He received the needle from Nurse practitioner Janie Neudorf in Yellowknife on Thursday, May 6, 2021.Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Braden
YELLOWKNIFE Riley Oldford is usually out playing sledge hockey or hanging out with friends, but since the start of the pandemic hes mostly been at home.
The 16-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and a chronic lung condition, was the first person in the Northwest Territories under 18 to get vaccinated when he got the shot earlier this month.
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The N.W.T. prioritized residents with chronic conditions or at high risk for COVID-19 in its vaccine rollout, but Oldford wasnt originally eligible because of his age.
On May 6, the territory started offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to youth between 12 and 17, a day after Health Canada approved its use.
Yellowknife has had relatively few cases of COVID-19 compared with other cities in Canada, but Oldford was taken out of school to reduce the risk of him getting infected.
For the past 14 months, the Grade 10 student has been learning from home.
By now, Ive almost gotten used to it, Oldford said.
Read more.
Saturday
Alberta grants rural rodeo COVID-19 exemption as cases hit month-plus low
A central Alberta rodeo went forward Saturday after Alberta Health granted organizers an exemption from ongoing public health restrictions.
The rodeo comes as Albertas case counts of the novel coronavirus reach their lowest point in more than a month.
The event, featuring Alberta junior and senior high school students and hosted by the Alberta High School Rodeo Association, kicked off Saturday afternoon in Ponoka, about 60 kilometres north of Red Deer.
Read more.
Saturday
Calgary senior celebrates 100th birthday after pandemic devastates care home
Marion Greene celebrates her 100th birthday with her family and friends outside Extendicare Hillcrest on Saturday, May 15, 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic and because of an outbreak at Extendicare Hillcrest, Marion was not able to meet with loved ones in a long time, but some restrictions at the nursing home have been lifted just in time for her 100th birthday.Photo by Azin Ghaffari /Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia
A Calgary senior celebrated her 100th birthday in style Saturday with a celebration hosted at her long-term care home.
Marion Greene reached the century mark on May 15, 2021, marked by a party on the front patio of Extendicare Hillcrest, a long-term care home in northwest Calgary, and a drive-by salute from city firetrucks.
Shes an amazing woman and were so lucky to have her as her as our mom, and so many people as lucky to have her as a friend, said Michael Greene, one of Marions four children.
She brightens peoples lives up.
Read more.
Saturday
Alberta summer camps remain in limbo with no clear direction from the province
Heather ONeill, Executive Director of Camp Cadicasu, poses for a photo outside her Cochrane home. Saturday, May 15, 2021.Photo by Brendan Miller /Postmedia
Indecision by the Alberta government on whether to allow summer camps to open this year is threatening an entire industry and could harm youth, says a local operator.
Heather ONeill, executive director of Kananaskis-based Camp Cadicasu, said time is running out for overnight and day camp operators to make decisions for the summer. They need to know immediately whether to go ahead with hiring, planning and alerting families.
Theres a two-week window to give overnight camps, in particular, the heads up, the thumbs up, said ONeill. If we dont know by the end of May, we dont have time to get things in place. There will be no camps this summer.
Read more.
Saturday
1,195 new cases, 3 new deaths
Alberta Health reported its lowest daily COVID-19 case count in over one month today.
Todays numbers are the lowest since April 12.
Three people were reported to have died, including a man in his 40s from the Calgary zone.
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Here are today’s #COVID19AB stats:
-1,195 new cases (total now 217,821)-3 new deaths (total now 2,140)-686 currently in hospital, 178 in ICU (yesterday: 713 in hospital, 177 in ICU)-22,993 active cases (down from 23,873)-12,926 tests conducted (~9.2% positive)#yyc#yeg
Jason Herring (@jasonfherring) May 15, 2021
Saturday
Like New Years Eve: Polish bars celebrate midnight reopening
People enjoy meetings as bars and restaurants as the country coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions eased to open outdoor terraces in Lodz, Poland May 14, 2021. Picture taken May 14, 2021.Photo by TOMASZ STANCZAK /REUTERS
Champagne corks popped at the stroke of midnight on Friday as bars and restaurants in Poland opened their outdoor terraces for the first time in over six months and many Poles went out to celebrate.
Bars and restaurants can now offer outdoor service, with indoor service due to reopen with limited capacity on May 28. Since October, they have been able to serve only take-away food.
Additionally, from Saturday Poles are no longer required to wear masks outside in places where they can observe social distancing.
Read more.
Saturday
Greece formally opens to tourists
A man wearing a protective face mask disinfects a sunbed during the official reopening of beaches to the public, following the easing of measures against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Athens, Greece, May 8, 2021.Photo by COSTAS BALTAS /REUTERS
Greece formally opened to visitors on Saturday, kicking off a summer season it hopes will resurrect its vital tourism industry battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
After months of lockdown restrictions, Greece also opened its museums and famed archaeological sites, including the ancient Acropolis, this week.
I feel really alive and good because it has been such a hard and long year because of COVID, said Victoria Sanchez, a 22-year-old student on holiday from the Czech Republic.
Read more.
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