Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Sunday, Feb. 28

The latest:

• Albertareported 301new casesof COVID-19 on Sunday,down from 415the day before.
• There are4,584active casesacross the provinceas well as three more deaths.
• Hospitalizations continue to decline there are250 people being treated in hospital for COVID-19, a decrease of 12 from the day before. There are now46in intensive care beds.
• The province's COVID-19 vaccination rollouthas now seen227,678doses of vaccine administered. That number includes87,695Albertans who are fully immunized with two doses of the vaccine.
• Alberta Health Servicessaid Friday that more than 110,000Alberta seniors born in 1946 or earlier are now booked to receive their COVID-19 vaccination.
• Helath Minister Tyler Shandro said Thursday 28,000 seniors in long-term care have already been vaccinated and thatmore than half of Alberta's population over 75 have been vaccinated or are booked to be vaccinated.
• The province has already met the hospitalizationthresholds for both Step 2 and 3, and could choose to move to Step 2 of thephased reopening plan as early as Monday. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, said the government will also consider leading indicators like R-value, new cases and positivity ratewhen deciding to move to the next phase of reopening.
• The province hasconfirmed a total of 430 cases of people infected witha coronavirus variant 422 of the strain first identified in the U.K. andeightof the strain first identified in South Africa.
• Alberta's R-value has increased to 1.03, meaning that more than one person on average contracts COVID-19 from each positive case. An R-value above 1.0 indicates exponential growth. Outside of Calgary and Edmonton, the R-value is much higher, at1.13.
• The testing positivity rate is 4.03per cent,downfrom5.3 per cent the previous day.
• Hinshawwill not be providing a live update until March 1.

• The head of Alberta Health Services apologized for the "frustration and worry" caused by problems during the launch of itsonline COVID-19 vaccine appointment booking system.
• A group of Edmonton medical staff arecalling onthe province to delay plans tomove forward with further relaxation of COVID-19 measures.
• Alberta Health confirmed Fridaythere are now three deaths linked to a COVID-19outbreak at the Olymelmeat-packing plant in Red Deer.
• Health Canada approved use of the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca on Friday, clearing the way for millions of more inoculations in Canada.
• The pandemic derailed the Alberta government's plans to return to a balanced budget, as Thursday it proposed nearly $62 billion in spending for 2021-22.

• Appointments for Albertans born in 1946 or earlier are supposed to be booked online or by calling 811.
• They are to be booked at 58 sites around the province, between 8:20 a.m. and 3:40 p.m., seven days a week. The government has said that those hours will be extended as more doses arrive.More than 230,000 seniors will be eligible.
• Shandro said vaccinations for those 75 and older will soon be available at 102 community pharmacies in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer as well as at the AHS sites. A list of participating pharmacies is available on the Alberta Blue Cross website.
• Cases in Alberta's long-term care homes haveplummeted by 92 per cent following vaccinations.
• Premier Jason Kenneysaidall residents in long-term careand designated supportive living have now received their second shot of the vaccine.
• Shandro said Thursdaythat family doctors and their clinical staff will be included in Phase 2 of Alberta's COVID-19 vaccine rollout. That's expected to take place between April and September.

See the detailed regional breakdown

Here is thedetailed regional breakdownof active cases as of Sunday:

• Calgary zone: 1,551, up from 1,545(48,967 recovered).
• Edmonton zone: 970, up from 926 (51,797 recovered).
• North zone: 1,059, up from 1,044 (10,690 recovered).
• South zone: 319, up from 314 (6,100 recovered).
• Central zone: 670, down from 702 (9,386 recovered).
• Unknown: 15, unchanged(94 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:

COVID-19 enforcement power issued to peace officers expires

The recent expiry of a ministerial order means some Alberta peace officers no longer have the authority to enforce COVID-19 rules under the public health act.

According to a bulletinposted onlineby the Alberta government,level onecommunity peace officers and level twoAlberta peace officers saw those temporaryenforcement powers expire earlier this week.

Terri Miller, president of theAlberta Association of Community Peace Officers, said that order gave the officers the ability to enforce the public health act while working in tandem with local police and Alberta Health.

"Once the ministerial order is removed, their ability to enforce under that public health act is also removed," Miller said. "So the onus would fall back on local police agencies, such as the RCMP."

Municipal bylaws in effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic aren't affected by the announcement.

The Alberta government initially gave municipal peace officers the power to fine people under the public health act in March of last year. Those powers were rescinded when the province cancelled the public health emergency.

The orderissued Nov. 27gave peace officers the power to fine a second time, andcontained a sunset clause that allowed it to expire after 90 days.

Read more:Temporary COVID-19 enforcement power issued to Alberta peace officers expires

AHS CEO apologizes for COVID-19 vaccine online booking snafus

The head of Alberta Health Services has apologized for the "frustration and worry" caused by problems during the launch of itsonline COVID-19 vaccine appointment booking system.

AHS president and CEO Dr. Verna Yiureleased a statement Friday, saying she wants to acknowledge the anger felt by seniors and their families who ran into technical difficulties when theprovincial booking systembecame overwhelmed after opening to those 75 and older on Wednesday.

The site repeatedly crashed and the 811 phone line jammed as Albertans tried for hours to book appointments.

"I want to publicly and personally apologize to anyone who experienced frustration, anger, or worry over what should be a hopeful time in the pandemic response," she said.

Yiu said that AHS made "an error in judgement" when it stress-tested the booking system, and underestimated how many peoplewould use the online tool and call 811 to try and book an appointment at launch time.

In her statement, Yiu also addressed reports of line-ups at immunization clinics, as seniors have queued to get theirs shots.

"Everyone who has an appointment is being vaccinated, and we have put in place better line management and process at the sites to encourage people to wait in their vehicles until their time slot," she said.

"Some of the clinics are behind schedule because we are taking time with each person, and we may need to extend the 10-minute allotment for each immunization. We are looking at that, and learning how to be efficient, caring, and respectful of all Albertans."

Edmonton medical staff group calls for delayingmove to Step 2 of reopening

A group of Edmonton medical staff arecalling onthe province to delay plans tomove forward with further relaxation of COVID-19 measures.

The Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association (EZMA) released a letter Friday sayingthat instead of moving to Step 2 of its reopening plan, the Alberta governmentshould close bars and restaurants to indoor service or, at least, institute capacity limits.

Dr. James Talbot, co-chair of EZMA's pandemic committee, worries that the province is getting ahead of itself.

"You're virtually guaranteeing that you are going to miss the signal," Talbot said.

"They should be waiting longer if they are going to use hospitalizations [as a lagging indicator] and in fact they should be using active cases."

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer, said the province would not make a decision to further ease restrictions until Monday at the earliest. After a steady declinesince December, Alberta's daily new cases and test positivity rate have plateaued and showed signs of trending upward since the province entered Step 1 on Feb. 8, which included reopening bars and restaurants for in-person service.

Third COVID-19 death linked to outbreak at Olymel meatpacking plant in Red Deer

Alberta Health confirmed two more deaths linked to a COVID-19outbreak at the Olymelmeatpacking plant in Red Deer on Friday, bringing the total to three.

Henry De Leon, 50, who worked at the plant for 15 years, died on Wednesday after spending three weeks on a ventilator,his family told CBC News.

The other Olymel outbreak-related death reported by the province on Friday was a woman in her 60s, who died on Sunday.

Alberta Health does not report the identities of people who die of COVID-19.

The first COVID-19 death linked tothe outbreak was Darwin Doloque, 35, who died on Jan. 28

There are 500 cases linked to the outbreak at the Red Deer meatpackingplant, according to the most recent update from Alberta Health.Of those,156 are considered active.

Health Canada approves use of AstraZeneca vaccine

Health Canada has approved use of the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca, clearing the way for millions of more inoculations in Canada.

Canada's regulatory experts had been assessing the submission from AstraZeneca and Oxford University for safety and efficacy since October, and announced their approval this morning.

"AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccineis indicated for active immunization of individuals 18 years of age and older for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019,"reads their website.

"The efficacy of the vaccine was estimated to be 62.1 per cent. Overall, there are no important safety concerns and the vaccine was well tolerated by participants."

Canada has secured access to 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

COVID-19 cases rising in northern Alberta as province reports eight more deaths

Northern Alberta continues to see an increase in COVID-19 infections, with more than 1,000 active cases across the health zone.

The province reported 399 new cases on Thursday, a slight decline from the day before, while hospitalization numbers dropped below 300 for the first time in many weeks.

Alberta Health also reported another 32 new cases of a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom. The province has now confirmed 348 cases of variant B117, andcontinues to have seven cases of B1351, first identified in South Africa.

There were 4,484 active cases in the province, with 280 people treated in hospitals for the illness, including 56 in ICU beds, according to the latest update released by Alberta Health.

Another eight deaths were reported to Alberta Health over the last 24 hours, including four that dated back to January.

100,000 Alberta seniors book COVID-19 vaccination as AHS says website 'stabilized'

More than 100,000 newly eligible Alberta seniors hadscheduledCOVID-19 vaccinationsby early Thursday afternoon and several thousand had received their first doses, according to the province, with many saying they looked forward to being able to safely visit family and friendssomeday soon.

Meanwhile, Alberta Health Services promisedit hadfixedthe issues thatcaused its system to crash repeatedlythe previous day while tens of thousandstried for hours to book vaccinations.

At least one expert said it never needed to happen.

The province said earlier in the week that about 230,000Albertans would be newly eligible when the system opened at 8 a.m. Wednesday to all those born in 1946 or earlier.

Seniors who are residents of public long-term care and designated supportive-living facilities hadalready received the vaccine.

With 100,000 appointments already booked, that means more than 40 per cent of those newly eligible had booked their shots by calling 811 or through theonline booking toolby 2 p.m. on Thursday less than 30 hours after the system opened up to them.

Pandemic spending derails Alberta government's plan for balanced budget

Fixated on bolstering the health-care system during the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta's United Conservative Party government has postponed its promise of a fiscal reckoning to a later, undetermined time.

A government that one year ago insisted the province had a spending problem will now raise Alberta's planned expenses by eight per cent compared to last year, proposing nearly $62 billion in spending for 2021-22.

Finance Minister Travis Toews said Alberta's situation has changed dramatically, and so should the government's plans.

"I'm not happy with COVID-19 and the pandemic, and having to deal with the resulting economic challenges of the province," Toews said at a Thursday news conference before tabling the budget.

"This is where we find ourselves, and we have to adjust to make sure that we're delivering the most competent, responsible governance possible."

Among the planned spending this year is a $1.25-billion contingency fund to respond to COVID-19, which includes vaccination rollout.

With an estimated $43.7 billion in revenue, Toews predicted an $18.2-billion deficit in the coming year one of the largest in the province's history.

• For more, see:Temporary COVID-19 enforcement power issued to Alberta peace officers expires
• For more, see:Alberta reports 415 new cases of COVID-19, 6 deaths
• For more, see:Temporary COVID-19 enforcement power issued to Alberta peace officers expires
• For more, see:AHS CEO apologizes for COVID-19 vaccine online booking snafus
• For more, see:Edmonton medical staff group calls for delay to move to Step 2 of reopening
• For more, see:Third COVID-19 death linked to outbreak at Olymel meatpacking plant in Red Deer
• For more, see:Health Canada approves use of AstraZeneca vaccine
• For more, see:COVID-19 cases rising in northern Alberta as province reports eight more deaths
• For more, see:100,000 Alberta seniors book COVID-19 vaccination as AHS says website 'stabilized'
• For more, see:Pandemic spending derails Alberta government's plan for balanced budget

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