Alberta imposes strict restrictions to curb soaring COVID-19 infections

shahennews

 Prime Minister of the Canadian province of Alberta, Jason Kenney, announced that his government was forced to introduce a bundle of tougher public-health restrictions on Tuesday to slow the spread of coronavirus and keep the health-care system from being overwhelmed.

In a statement, Kenney highlighted that among those measures, all kindergarten to Grade 12 students in Alberta will move to at-home learning starting on Friday and continuing until after the May long weekend, adding that all workplaces in the province with COVID-19 outbreaks will be shut down.

Other measures also include closing restaurants and bars to in-person dining, closing down personal care services such as hair salons and limiting outdoor gatherings to five people, the premier noted. “We will not permit our health-care system to be overwhelmed,” Kenney said.

“Governments must not impair peoples’ rights or their livelihoods unless it is absolutely necessary to save lives, and in this case, to prevent a disaster from unfolding in our hospitals,” he further added.

Alberta on Wednesday recorded 1,734 new coronavirus cases and 9 new deaths, bringing the caseload in the province to 198,653, along with 2,099 fatalities.

//Petra// WH