Albertans will soon learn the fate of the remaining COVID-19 measures.
In a Tweet Monday evening (Feb.21) , Premier Jason Kenney said there was “encouraging” data showing a steep drop in the COVID-19 omicron wave and that an announcement about moving to Phase two would come on Saturday.
On Saturday, February 26 the government will announce a final decision about proceeding to Phase Two of our plan to lift almost all restrictions on March 1.
— Jason Kenney (@jkenney) February 22, 2022
We will make a prudent decision based on the latest data.
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Kenney continued to say that restrictions should “not last one day longer than necessary” to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed.
On Feb.8, the Premier said Step two, including removing the provincial mask mandate, limits on social gatherings and capacity limits on venues, would only happen so long as hospitalizations continued to trend downward.
Due to technical issues, a detailed COVID-19 report was not available Tuesday afternoon. The province estimates 1,380 people are in the hospital with the virus, including 95 in intensive care.
A date for Step three, which would see the removal of all remaining COVID-19 measures, including in continuing care, has not yet been determined.