Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Monday, Feb. 15

The latest:

• Alberta reported251 new casesof COVID-19 on Monday, compared with 284new casesreported Sunday.
• Air travellers landing in Canada will have to quarantine in a hotel, at their own expense, starting Feb. 22for up to 72 hours, according to government sources who spoke with CBC News, with an announcement expected later Friday. Last month, the federal government announced air travellers returning from non-essential trips abroad will have to isolate in a federally mandated facility for up to three dayswhile they await the results of a polymerase chain reaction test, commonly known as aPCR test, at an estimated cost of up to $2,000.
• The hotel stay would be part of themandatory 14-day quarantine period for returning non-essential travellers.
• The tighter federal restrictions and the growing spread of more highly contagious variant strains of coronavirus in other parts of the world, prompted theAlberta government to say Thursday that it wouldsuspend the border testing pilot at the Calgary airportwhen the newrequirements come into effect.
• Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health,commended front-line workers from Alberta Health Services, the Calgary International Airport, the airlines and the University of Calgary for helping make the border testing pilot project a success. She said that since November, more than 49,000 returning travellers had been tested as soon as they arrived and she credited the pilot project with playingan important role in preventing the spread of the coronavirusand the variants in the province.
• Starting Monday, all travellersarriving atland border crossings will be requiredto show proof of a negative PCR test completed in the United States within the previous 72 hours, Hinshaw said Thursday in line with new federal rules.
• Border officers can't legally deny entry to Canadians, but those who show up without proof of a test could face fines of up to $3,000.
• About 380,000 public- and private-sector workers such as health-care and social-services workers and education support workers will receiveone-time payments of $1,200 for putting themselves at risk on the job during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Alberta governmentannounced on Wednesday.
• However, the new program is leaving some employees and unions frustrated as they puzzle over who is eligible for the cash.
• Premier Jason Kenney said ThursdaythatAlberta would pursue additional domestic production of vaccines after Manitoba made a deal to buy two million doses of a Calgary-made COVID-19 vaccine.
• A Calgary lab has partnered with Sandstone Pharmacies,a Calgary-based pharmacy chain that has a strong presence in rural southern Alberta, to offerfee-based asymptomatic COVID-19 tests.
• There were 5,222active cases on Monday, up slightly from5,215the previous day.

• The testingpositivity rate is 4.6per cent, upfrom 3.6per centthe previous day.
• Another twopeople have died,bringing the total number of deaths in the province to1,782.
• The provincewide R-value, which refers to the average number of people infected by each person with the virus, was 0.85, a decreasefrom 0.87the previous week.
• The province has now confirmed 171 cases of people infected withthe coronavirus variants of concern 164 of the strain first identified in the U.K. and seven of the strain first identified in South Africa.
• There were356people in hospital as of Sunday, including 58in intensive care.

• The City of Calgary said Thursday that 182 violation ticketshavebeen issued since August for failure to wear a face covering where required.Thetotal number of tickets issued under the Public Health Act in Calgaryis now192.
• Calgary is also reopening bookings at some municipal arenas and pools that can be booked for one-on-one training or for lessons or practices for minor teams (up to 10 people), but not for games or group exercise, the city said.
• The first round of eased COVID-19 restrictions in the past week includeslimited school and minor sports training, allowing restaurants, cafs and pubs to reopen for dine-in services, and permitting fitness training,but only for one-on-one workouts individual workouts without a trainer are not permitted.
• The province has said further easings of restrictions wouldn't begin until hospitalizations dropped below 450 and not for at least three weeks after the first stage of reopening. A decision onStep2is expected to be made onFeb. 28.
• Close to a third of Alberta's active COVID-19 cases have no identified source, sparking concerns that important data could bemissing as the province eases restrictions and at the same time tracks a growing number of variant cases.
• As of Monday, more than 146,603doses of the vaccine had been administered. There are now approximately 51,611Albertans who are now fully immunized after receiving both doses.

See the detailed regional breakdown:

Here is thedetailed regional breakdownof active cases as of Monday.

• Calgary zone: 1,989, down from 2,022 reported on Sunday(47,056 recovered).
• Edmonton zone:1,435, down from 1,453(50,352 recovered).
• North zone: 753, up from 735(10,009 recovered).
• South zone: 330, up from 321(5,791 recovered).
• Central zone: 706, up from 678 (8,759 recovered).
• Unknown: 9, up from 6(104 recovered).

Find out which neighbourhoods or communities have the most cases, how hard people of different ages have been hit, the ages of people in hospital, how Alberta compares to other provinces and more in: Here are the latest COVID-19 statistics for Alberta and what they mean

Here are the latest Alberta COVID-19 stories:

A look at where CERB payments went at beginning of pandemic

Federal data, obtained through the Access to Information Act by The Canadian Press, provides the most detailed picture yet of where billions of dollars in emergency aid went last year.

CERB paid out nearly $82 billion to 8.9 million people during its lifetime, paid out to those who lost their jobs or had their hours slashed.

CERB usage appearedhigher in urban areas with higher COVID-19 counts, like Calgary's northeast.

"These are real worries and challenges that members of my community have been facing throughout a pandemic," said Calgary Coun. George Chahal.

For more, see:A closer look at where $82 billion in CERB payments went at the beginning of the pandemic

COVID-19 in long-term care under Alberta auditor's microscope

Alberta's auditor general will examine how the Alberta government managed billions of dollars in extra federal funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, according toan audit plan for 2021-22posted on theauditor's website.

"In identifying potential areas to audit, our office will continue to look at areas of highest risk and importance, including programs and services that impact vulnerable citizens, and investments and activities designed to leverage economic recovery," the audit plan reads.

The auditor will alsoscrutinize the province's management of the pandemic in long-term care and supported living.

For more, see:Opioid crisis, COVID-19 in long-term care under Alberta auditor's microscope

CEO of Calgary drug company speaks with Ottawa

Providence Therapeutics CEO Brad Sorenson says he has been approached by the federal governmentabout his company's made-in-Calgary vaccine.

Sorensontold CBC NewsNetwork'sPower & Politicsthat thisis the first time a COVID-19 vaccine designed and manufactured in Canada has begun trials.

Providence Therapeutics CEO says he's meeting with Industry minister Saturday

4 years ago

Duration 2:49

Providence Therapeutics CEO Brad Sorenson speaks to Power & Politics after striking a deal for the company's vaccines with the Manitoba government.

He said the office of Science and Industry Minister Franois-Philippe Champagneapproached Providence Therapeuticsaboutthe vaccine.

"We've heard from a number of premiers, and I'm happy to report that I was approached by Minister Champagne's office to have a discussion with him," he said.

For more, see:CEO of Canadian drug company says Ottawa has approached him about his firm's made-in-Canada vaccine

Alberta to end border testing program at Calgary airport

Alberta will end its border pilot program at the Calgary airport when new federal restrictions come into place, the province's chief medical officer of health announced Thursday.

"Thanks to the testing processes already in place because of our border pilot, Alberta's labs are well positioned to support this new federal requirement," Dr. Deena Hinshaw said.

The border pilot at the Coutts border entry, meanwhile, will continue until a decision is made by the federal government on whether additional restrictions are needed at land border crossings, Hinshaw said.

Starting Monday, Alberta will require alltravellers arriving at land border crossings to show proof of a negative PCR test completed in the United States within the previous 72 hours.

For more, see:Alberta changing rules to require negative COVID-19 tests at international border crossings

Close to a third of Alberta's active COVID-19 cases have no identified source

Close to a third of Alberta's active COVID-19 cases have no identified source, sparking concerns that important data could bemissing as the province eases restrictions and at the same time tracks a growing number of variant cases.

The percentage of active cases with no known source peaked at about 85 per cent in late Novemberwhen Alberta'scontact tracing system broke down.

While it has improved dramatically since Alberta Health Servicesbeefed up its contact tracing teams and caught up with the backlog, it currently sits at nearly 33 per cent representing 1,856 of 5,706 active cases.

The province moved intoStage 1 of its phased reopeningon Monday, allowing for some indoor dining at restaurants, one-on-one training in gyms and limited school and minor sports.

Craig Jenne, an associate professor at the University of Calgary in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases, said easing restrictions will lead to more interactions in the community, providing even more opportunities for the virus to spread between people who don't know each other.

"If we're at a third already, as we increase our activity in the community one would only expect those anonymous or untraceable contacts to go up," he said.

For more, see:Close to a third of Alberta's active COVID-19 cases have no identified source

Asymptomatic COVID testing coming to pharmacy chain with locations in rural southern Alberta

A Calgary lab has partnered with a locally based pharmacy chain that has a strong presence in rural southern Alberta to offerfee-based asymptomatic COVID-19 tests.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests will soon be available to people without COVID symptoms at Sandstone Pharmacies across the province.

The tests use saliva samples rather than nose or throat swabs, and results can be available within hours, butfor a fee. It will be $149plus GST for a standard, 24-hour wait, and up to $199 plus GST for a four-hour wait.

The developers hope that faster turnaround times will allow the province to stay on top of testing.

"The biggest problem the PCR testing has is that it takes a long time to process the results, and that delays notification to patients, to the health-care teams and contact tracing," said Dr. Anmol Kapoor, a Calgary cardiologist and the CEO of CardiAI labs, which will processthe results.

Sandstone locations in Alberta include Airdrie, Nanton, Blackfalds, Bragg Creek, Black Diamond, Hythe and Langdon. There are also locations inCalgary and Medicine Hat.

The testing kits should be available in Sandstone Pharmacies early next week.

For more, see:Asymptomatic COVID testing coming to pharmacy chain with locations in rural southern Alberta

Alberta will pursue further domestic vaccine production, Kenney says

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said Thursday the province would pursue additional domestic production of vaccines after Manitoba made a deal to buy two million doses of a Calgary-made COVID-19 vaccine.

Earlier Thursday, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallisterannounced the province had made a dealto buy the doses from the Calgary-basedbiotechnology company Providence Therapeutics, which has just startedhuman clinical trials.

"It would be so important for us to have a domestic pharmaceutical industry here, and we are very keen on doing whatever we can to make that happen," Kenney said during a news conference.

"It's obvious that we can't count on international vaccine supply during COVID-19 given the vaccine nationalism and the failure of the federal government to get strong enough contracts to access supply."

Manitoba premier says province's deal to secure made-in-Canada vaccines is 'insurance'

4 years ago

Duration 1:02

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said Thursday the province has struck a deal to buy two million doses of a Canadian-made COVID-19 vaccine, on the condition it gets approved for use in Canada and is delivered by the end of the year.

Providence's product isanmRNA vaccine similar to Modernashots, requiring two doses. The company purchased a 20,000-square-foot facility in Calgary with 12,000 square feet of lab space in order to mass produce the product.

Brad Sorenson, CEO of Providence,said the company is about halfway through its Phase 1 trialand expects to roll into Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials beginning in May.

For more, see: Alberta will pursue further domestic vaccine production, Kenney says

• For the latest on what's happening in the rest of Canada and around the world, seehere.