A big announcement has been cancelled.
The province was expected to relax COVID-19 restrictions Tuesday (Dec.14) afternoon, allowing more people to gather for the holidays.
"Dec.14, the State of Public Health Emergency will lapse. That's why we think it's the right time for us potentially to move forward," explained Premier Jason Kenney during a recent press conference.
Kenney said they have to be careful about what actions are taken, given concerns around the Omicron variant. He said it is inevitable there will be future waves as indicated by their data models and the nature of respiratory viruses, which operate on cycles but wants Albertans to still celebrate with their families.
"I don't want to create a situation where we have millions of Albertans violating the rules when we're not in a current emergency situation."
Kenney didn't give any specific details about the upcoming changes but said they would be a "modest, common sense relaxation."
According to Brock Harrison, the premier’s executive director of communications and planning, an emergency meeting with the prime minister and other premiers about the Omicron variant pushed back the briefing. The announcement was scheduled to start at 5 p.m., however, it has been postponed indefinitely.