Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw. (Government of Alberta)

By David Opinko

Dr. Hinshaw: How province will determine when more parts of the economy might reopen

May 6, 2020 | 5:33 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Alberta could be just a week away from seeing some sectors relaunch, but we are only just learning now how those determinations will be made.

Premier Jason Kenney announced the phased Economic Relaunch Strategy last week that details what would be included in each of the three phases of easing COVID-19 restrictions.

Stage 1 could begin “as early as” Thursday, May 14 and would see the reopening of retail businesses, some personal services like hair styling, more scheduled medical procedures, daycares, summer camps, and more.

During her May 6 COVID-19 update, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw did not say for sure if Stage 1 will actually start on May 14, but did elaborate on how they will determine when all three Stages will happen.

“We’re closely monitoring our indicators which include the number of people in hospital for COVID-19, the number of people in ICU, and the number of new cases.”

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Currently, 82 patients have been hospitalized, 19 of which have been admitted to intensive care units.

“We are tracking a little bit under our high watermark on those numbers, which was happening last week.”

As for the total number of new infections, there were 70 confirmed Wednesday, which is significantly less than have been reported in recent weeks.

“Those are the kinds of numbers we’re watching really closely to see whether or not the opening measures that we’re looking at for Stage 1 might be appropriate to do so next week. Those are the kinds of things that will inform a recommendation that my team and I will put together and bring forward to the emergency management cabinet committee.”

At the same time, Dr. Hinshaw recognizes that the government cannot properly determine if every single sector will be ready to reopen at certain times by itself.

That is why she is encouraging business owners to work with their industry associations to adopt the Workplace Guidance for Business Owners.

“That broadly applicable guidance that’s on our website should be used to create industry-specific guidance that then can be reviewed and we can make sure that those sectors that are ready to go with those kinds of safe opening guidelines are poised to do so when the numbers tell us it’s safe to do so.”

Wednesday’s COVID-19 update, which includes a focus on how the province is managing outbreaks at meatpacking plants, can be read here.