Premier Jason Kenney announced the three stages of the provincial relaunch strategy for Alberta on April 30.
“The announcement marks the start of a carefully controlled and staged approached to safely reopen Alberta’s economy and society, and getting Albertans back to work,” Kenney said.
The three-phase relaunch strategy was developed with the recommendations by public health officials on carefully and gradually lifting restrictions in place due to COVID-19.
“The losses have been hard, and there will without a doubt be more to come. We will be remembering and grieving the toll of the pandemic for the rest of our lives,” Kenney said.
“With the launch of Alberta’s relaunch strategy, we can finally begin to shift our focus from the pain and anxiety for the next few months and start looking with conscious hope and modest confidence towards the future,” he said.
Adding, “We’re still months from anything that will feel like the normal lives that we all took for granted just a few weeks back, but as we begin to look at a few future, I’d like to thank you for your strength and adaptability which has allowed us to respond to effectively.”
Some businesses and facilities can start to gradually resume operations as early as May 14 with increasing infection prevention and controls to minimize the risk of increased transmissions of COVID-19.
Retail businesses, vendors at farmers’ markets, hair salons, barbershops, museums, art galleries, cafés, restaurants for public seating at 50 per cent capacity, summer camps with limited occupancy, daycares, and out-of-school care with limited occupancy will be able to operate.
Scheduled surgeries, dental procedures, physiotherapy, chiropractic, optometry, and similar services will also resume.
Post-secondary institutions will continue to deliver courses, however how programs are delivered, whether online, in-person, or a blend will be dependent on what restrictions remain in place at each relaunch phase.
The use of masks will be strongly recommended in specific crowded public spaces, such as mass transit, that do not allow for physical distancing.
Gatherings of 15 or more people, art and culture festivals, major sporting events, concerts, movie theatres, pools, recreation centres, arenas, spas, gyms, nightclubs, and in-school classes for kindergarten to grade 12 students are not permitted in stage one.
Visitors to patients at health-care facilities will continue to be limited.
Under stage one, non-essential travel especially outside of the province is not recommended.
The timing of stage two will be determined by the success of stage one, the capacity of the health-care system, the reduction of the rate of infections, hospitalization, and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) cases.
Additional businesses and services such as artificial tanning, esthetics, cosmetic skin, body treatments, manicures, pedicures, waxing, facial treatments, massage, and reflexology will reopen and resume operations under public health guidelines.
Potentially kindergarten to grade 12 schools, and movie theatres can open with restrictions.
Some large gatherings will be permitted.
In stage two, nightclubs, gyms, pools, recreation centres, arenas, arts and culture festivals, concerts, major sporting events, and other mass gatherings will not be permitted.
Non-essential travel will not be recommended.
The final stage of the relaunch strategy will be determined by the success of stage one and two.
All businesses and services will fully reopen with some limited restrictions still in place.
Large gatherings, arts and culture festivals, concerts, major sporting events, nightclubs, gyms, pools, recreation centres, and arenas will reopen with restrictions.
Restrictions on non-essential travel will also be lifted.
“For our relaunch strategy to succeed, Albertans must be confident in their ability to go out and visit these businesses and services safely,” Kenney said.
“We will all need to be comfortable going into stores, and visiting restaurants and workers need to be comfortable going into work,” he said.
Public Health officials will constantly review and improve the public health guidelines to ensure Albertans remain safe throughout the provincial relaunch.
“You can expect to see changes and clarifications to these plans as it unfolds. It’s not set in stone; it’s going to be a plan that develops over time based on how well we’re doing to combat the virus,” Kenney said.
Each stage will be evaluated and sequenced to ensure public health safety is protected while meeting the needs of people, businesses and to protect against potential future surges of the transmission of COVID-19.
As the relaunch begins, several safeguards will be in place to protect Albertans, including increasing COVID-19 testing capacity, comprehensive contact tracing, support for those who have tested positive, border control, increased use in masks, and ensuring the vulnerable are protected.
“The success of our relaunch depends on each of us looking out for ourselves and for our health system, in doing so we’re also taking care of each other,” Kenney said
“Our challenge now is to begin returning to a more normal life. A full return to normal won’t come until there is an effective vaccine or treatment, or until the virus is no longer there to threaten us,” he said.
“Until then, we will all have to remain vigilant, we will have to continue practicing personal distancing, and hygiene habits,” he added.
