Coronavirus (COVID-19) Local News

COVID-19 visitor restrictions that were currently in place at Alberta Health Services (AHS) facilities have officially been rescinded.

The government announced Tuesday it is expanding its eligibility for a second COVID-19 booster to Albertans age 18 and up.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) has rescinded the Immunization of Workers for COVID-19 Policy, effective July 18.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw was occupied with court testimony so Wednesday's regular update expected to take place Thursday.

Approximately 60 per cent of all COVID-19 cases identified through PCR testing in the province are the Omicron variant BA.2, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Wednesday. However there is no evidence that it causes more severe outcomes, despite a higher transmission rate.

Incidents cause 'unnecessary anxiety and stress in our schools and in no way support an environment for learning' says St. Paul superintendent.

On Friday, a classroom ‘walkout’ and demonstration to protest mask mandates was organized by community members to give students the platform to oppose public health measures introduced in the province to stop the spread of COVID-19. Over 60 people took part in the demonstration, roughly a third were students.

Recent social media posts have fed into the notion that swabbing the throat with a COVID-19 rapid antigen test kit might yield more accurate results against the Omicron variant than only testing for virus in the nostrils.

The new COVID-19 variant was first detected in South Africa and has been declared a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.

Children now eligible for COVID-19 vaccine.