COVID-19 projections suggest Alberta peak coming in several weeks

Photo: The Canadian Press

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney updates media on measures taken to help with COVID-19, in Edmonton on Friday, March 20, 2020. The Alberta government will be releasing their COVID-19 projections early next week, Premier Jason Kenney said as he announced a jump in cases he attributed to the province's largest single-day total of test results. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he expects the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic to hit in several weeks, and that the more Albertans keep distancing, the faster and better it will be.

"This is an absolutely critical moment," Kenney told reporters Monday.

"We expect the peak to hit several weeks from now. And how high that peak goes then depends a lot on how people conduct themselves now and this weekend and the weekend to come.

"Nice weather is not a licence to go out there in large groups."

Kenney said other changes are coming, including a fire ban in various areas of the province ahead of the upcoming Easter long weekend.

"We're quite concerned about the possibility of managing this pandemic and then having a lot of wildfires at the same time."

Over the next two days, Kenney said his United Conservative government will be rolling out projections and models on how they believe the pandemic will play out in the province.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, announced 98 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total in the province to 1,348.

She also said there has been one additional death — a woman in her 80s at the McKenzie Towne care centre in Calgary. There have so far been 11 deaths at the facility — nearly half of the province's 24 fatalities.

Kenney said he will address the province in a televised speech Tuesday night, and will follow that up Wednesday with further details on projections and plans for the pandemic and for the economy, which has fallen under twin hammer blows of the virus and a collapse in oil prices.

"I ask people to be prepared for what can be some very challenging numbers, as we look at the prospective damage that this virus can still do in our province," Kenney said.

He noted Alberta is a global leader in testing per capita and its health system has the capacity to deal with the crisis, but challenges remain.

He said about one month's supply remains of N-95 respirator masks, which are critical to front-line health staff. But he added, "We are constantly seeking more supplies and ordering from suppliers around the world and, of course, we hope to participate in domestic procurement efforts."