During the May 14th COVID-19 provincial update, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw addressed grey areas of relaunch to provide clearer instruction to those who were in need of more information. 

The doctor clarified that all businesses that were not listed to open during stage two and three are able to open during stage one of relaunch. 

As people head out to newly reopened businesses and venue’s Dr. Hinshaw is asking business owners to fill out a short template to describe the ways in which they are keeping their staff, patrons, and themselves safe from the virus.  

“As apart of the relaunch strategy, we are requiring anyone who is reopening to identify what they are doing at their site to reduce the risk of transmission. Within seven days of opening, businesses must fill out a short template that can be found online at the biz connect site and post it at their place of business or online,” said Hinshaw. 

Capacity restrictions are different for every business and business owners are in charge of finding out the acceptable capacity and enforcing it within their business. 

Additionally, the 15-person rule is still in place and taking effect. 

“Social gatherings of 15 people or less can take place as long as those attending are physically distanced and the attendees are not sharing food or drink,” said Hinshaw. 

As things reopen, Dr. Hinshaw recommends facial mask use in public places to protect yourself and others from spreading COVID-19. 

“Wearing a mask in a public setting is a useful measure to protect those around you. The mask will keep any respiratory drops that you may put out and think of those as when you breathe out on a cold day. What you can see in the air—that’s your respiratory drops and the mask can keep those from contaminating people, surfaces, and objects,” explained Hinshaw. 

If you are showing any symptoms of the virus you are still required to self-isolate. Handwashing and avoiding touching your face is still very important to avoid the spread of the virus. 

May 14th new case numbers:

  • 50 new cases of the virus
  • 65 people are hospitalized with COVID-19
  • 10 people have been admitted to an ICU with COVID-19
  • 1,231 active cases in Alberta
  • 5,205 total recovered cases
  • 1 new death in the last 24 hours
  • 121 total deaths from the virus
  • 4,816 tests completed in the last 24 hours 
  • 200, 218 tests have been performed in total

Central Alberta shows the following case numbers, available at alberta.ca:

  • City of Lacombe: 2 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 2 recovered
  • Lacombe County: 3 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 3 recovered
  • Red Deer County: 16 total cases
    • 4 active
    • 12 recovered
  • City of Red Deer: 37 total cases 
    • 2 active
    • 35 recovered 
  • Sylvan Lake: 3 total cases
    • 2 active cases
    • 1 recovered 
  • Ponoka County: 3 total cases
    • 1 active
    • 2 recovered
  • County of Wetaskiwin: 0 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 0 recovered
  • City of Wetaskiwin: 8 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 8 recovered
  • County of Stettler: 2 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 2 recovered
  • Mountain View County: 7 total cases
    • 1 active
    • 6 recovered