COVID-19 Update: 153 new cases, one new death | Poll shows Canadians worried about contracting coronavirus

With news on COVID-19 happening rapidly, we’ve created this page to bring you our latest stories and information on the outbreak in and around Calgary.

© Provided by Calgary Herald
COVID-19 testing continued at the Richmond Road Diagnostic and Treatment Centre on Monday, September 28, 2020.

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Foothills hospital’s COVID-19 cases grow as another unit added to outbreak list

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Dozens of staff and patients have been infected with COVID-19 at Foothills Hospital in Calgary.

Two more patients and one health-care worker have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at the Foothills Medical Centre, as six units at the hospital now have COVID-19 outbreaks which total more than 60 cases.

Two separate units remain on the province’s watch list, while around 290 health-care workers are in isolation, according to Alberta Health Services.

Read more .

Braid: The UCP’S anti-CERB member also rips into masks, Nenshi, Ivison and Trudeau

In a video taken at a recent town hall in Parkland County, Getson said the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was exacerbating drug use and addictions and that businesses were having trouble hiring because recipients “make more on CERB, eating Cheezies and watching cartoons.”

Columnist Don Braid writes: Shane Getson of the UCP, otherwise known as the Cheezie MLA, appears to love the microphone.

For two hours and 10 minutes on Sept. 24 he talked to a small group of constituents about many things, from masks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, COVID-19, dog poop in the park, and, infamously, CERB and its impact on Cheezie sales.

We will get to dog poop in the park.

Read more .

153 new cases, one new death

The #COVID19-related death being reported today was that of a man in his 70s from Alberta Health Services’ Edmonton zone.#COVID19AB

— Sammy Hudes (@SammyHudes) September 30, 2020

As of today, 16,213 people in Alberta have recovered from #COVID19. That represents approximately 89.8% of the province’s total confirmed cases (18,062) since the pandemic began.#COVID19AB

— Sammy Hudes (@SammyHudes) September 30, 2020

Everything you need to know about the Canada Recovery Benefit, the new program replacing CERB

© Justin Tang / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. Justin Tang / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Bill C-4 introduces a replacement for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which is no longer available as of Sept. 26. The new Canadian Recovery Benefit (CRB) will provide financial relief for Canadians who don’t qualify for an updated Employment Insurance (EI) program or one of the two accompanying benefits.

Here’s what you need to know about how to claim CRB, and who’s eligible.

Read more .

Grocers and food manufacturers build up stockpiles to guard against demand spikes in COVID’s second wave

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Grocers and their suppliers don’t appear to be expecting the same level of hoarding that they saw at the outset of the pandemic this spring, but some are already seeing a jump in demand for some items.

Supermarkets and food manufacturers are building up their inventories to protect against surges in demand as a second wave of COVID-19 infections hits parts of Canada.

Grocers and their suppliers don’t appear to be expecting the same level of hoarding that they saw at the outset of the pandemic this spring. But as daily case counts have sharply increased in Ontario and Quebec, some retailers are already reporting slight jumps in demand for what have become pandemic staples, such as toilet paper and flour.

Read more .

Alberta NDP fires back at UCP MLA who said comments that federal emergency payment recipients ‘make more on CERB, eating Cheezies’ were missing context

In a video taken at a recent town hall in Parkland County, Getson said the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was exacerbating drug use and addictions and that businesses were having trouble hiring because recipients “make more on CERB, eating Cheezies and watching cartoons.”

The Alberta NDP is rejecting UCP MLA Shane Getson’s claim that his critical comments about federal emergency payment recipients were taken out of context.

In a video taken at a recent town hall in Parkland County, Getson said the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was exacerbating drug use and addictions and that businesses were having trouble hiring because recipients “make more on CERB, eating Cheezies and watching cartoons.”

Read more .

Seven more Calgary schools report a case of COVID-19

© Azin Ghaffari
Pictured is the entrance to a washroom where a number of signs have been put in order to implement physical distancing in Henry Wise Wood High School on Friday, August 28, 2020.

Seven Calgary schools have been added to the list of schools with at least one case of COVID-19.

Jennie Elliot School, R.T. Alderman School, Le Roi Daniels School, Glamorgan School, Dr. Roberta Bondar School, King George School and Douglas Harkness have all reported one case to parents.

According to advocacy group Support Our Students , at least 53 Calgary schools within the CBE or CCSD system have reported at least one COVID-19 case.

Alberta Health Services lists 14 Calgary schools at outbreak status of 2-4 cases, and two at watch status of more than five cases.

Health Canada green lights first rapid COVID-19 test

© Gavin Young/Postmedia
COVID-19 testing continued at the testing location in Sundance on Monday, September 28, 2020.

Health Canada has given the green light to a rapid test for COVID-19.

The department posted news of the approval of the Abbott Diagnostics ID Now test this afternoon, a day after the government said it had a deal to buy nearly eight million of the tests from the company.

The test has been in use in the United States for several months already.

Abbott’s website says the test can produce results in less than 13 minutes in the same place a nasal swab is taken from a patient.

Read more .

Quebec’s second wave driven by community transmission, muddled messaging, expert says

© Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg
A pedestrian walks down Saint-Catherine Street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Friday, March 27, 2020.

Quebecers following the COVID-19 news in recent days may be feeling a certain sense of deja vu.

The government has been announcing 700, 800, even close to 900 new cases per day — numbers not seen since the first wave of the pandemic swept through the province this spring.

Read more .

Americans got richer than ever during the pandemic, but Canadians haven’t followed suit

© Getty Images/iStockphoto
For the second quarter of 2020, U.S. household wealth grew at a 6.8 per cent rate. Household wealth in Canada, meanwhile, rose by a less sparkling 4.9 per cent.

COVID-19 has infected and killed a higher proportion of the population in the United States than in Canada, but that hasn’t stopped household wealth from rebounding to a record level south of the border, outpacing wealth gains in Canada in the process.

According to U.S. data, a booming stock market and a series of fiscal and monetary stimulus efforts pushed the wealth of American households to the highest level ever in the second quarter of this year, in spite of a huge drop in the previous quarter when the novel coronavirus sent global asset values plunging.

Read more .

Canada won’t return to pre-pandemic employment for another four years, conference board warns

© Dean Pilling/Postmedia
Closures and declines in household spending will restrain the recovery’s pace into mid-2021, says a new report by the Conference Board of Canada.

The lingering pandemic will flatten and potentially stall Canada’s economic recovery into 2021 with non-energy investment particularly hit, says a new report by the Conference Board of Canada.

Annualized non-energy, non-residential business investment will drop to about $130 billion early next year from almost $150 billion now, the Ottawa-based research organization forecasts.

Read more .

Calgary International Automotive and Truck show cancelled for 2021

© Brodie Thomas
Attendees of the 2020 Calgary Auto and Truck Show admire a 2020 Corvette Stingray.

The coronavirus has forced organizers to cancel next year’s Calgary International Automotive and Truck show.

It also means there will be no Vehicles and Violins Gala next year.

Organizers say that due to the uncertainty of the virus, they are unable to make the necessary commitments to prepare for the show.

It will be the first time the event has not been held in 40 years. The 2020 show had to shut down early as the lockdown began in mid-March.

Although the 2020 show was cancelled, the Calgary Motor Dealer’s Charitable Foundation was able to make a $100,000 donation to Discovery House shelter, and more than $40,000 in donations to other charities and scholarships.

Organizers are optimistic that the auto show will return in 2022.

Quebec reports 838 new COVID-19 cases, one more death linked to virus

© Christinne Muschi
FILE PHOTO: A student has her hands sanitized in the schoolyard, as schools outside the greater Montreal region begin to reopen their doors amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada May 11, 2020.

Quebec is reporting 838 new COVID-19 cases and one more death attributed to the novel coronavirus.

Authorities said today the number of hospitalizations is up by 15, to 262.

The number of patients in intensive care rose by two, to 43.

Health authorities have reported a total of 74,288 COVID-19 infections and 5,834 deaths linked to the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.

Read more .

Britain reports over 7,000 new COVID-19 cases for second day

© JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
A pedestrian wearing a a perspex full-face covering, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, walks across Oxford Street in central London on June 11, 2020.

Britain on Wednesday reported 7,108 new COVID-19 cases, the second day in a row there have been over 7,000 cases as COVID-19 infections spike.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a news conference on COVID-19 later on Wednesday as he grapples with a swiftly spreading second wave of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Lockdown measures are being imposed across the country as the government tries to limit the spread of the virus.

Tuesday’s case number of 7,143 was the biggest single daily case total recorded, although Britain is now testing more, processing over 200,000 tests a day compared to under 100,000 at the start of the pandemic.

There were 71 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test, the same number as on Tuesday, which was the biggest toll reported since July.

– Reuters

Canadians more worried about COVID-19 than they were in June: Poll

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A new poll suggests Canadians are more worried about COVID-19 as a possible second wave approaches.

A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute finds that Canadians are reporting more anxiety and concern over COVID-19 than they were in the early summer.

Two-in-three Canadians, or 64 percent say they believe the worst impacts from coronavirus are yet to come.

However nearly 3 quarters of 73 percent of Canadians report their mental health is good (58 per cent) or “great (15 per cent). However younger people and woman are reporting that they are struggling. One third of men and women under the age of 35 say they’re struggling. Two-in-five women between the ages of 35 and 54 say their mental health is bad or terrible.

About 70 per cent of Canadians say they’re personally worried about contracting COVID-19, which is up from 46 per cent in June.

Tuesday

Nine more surgeries postponed, 290 healthcare workers isolating due to Foothills Medical Centre outbreak

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Dozens of staff and patients have been infected with COVID-19 at Foothills Hospital in Calgary.

Another nine surgeries were postponed at Foothills Medical Centre on Tuesday as hospital staff balances limited staffing and inpatient capacity due to the COVID-19 outbreak at the facility.

There are 290 healthcare workers now in isolation because of their possible exposure to the novel coronavirus in five units of the Calgary hospital. Since an outbreak has been declared in a short-stay surgical unit, surgical staff have been impacted and a total of 48 surgeries have now been postponed.

Read more .

Tuesday

As CBE rolls out $44 million in federal funding, none will be used to address crowding

© Azin Ghaffari
Pictured is a classroom in Henry Wise Wood High School that could accommodate a cohort of up to 38 students on Friday, August 28, 2020.

As more schools declare watches and outbreaks of COVID-19, public school officials say the rollout of $44 million in federal funding this school year will not be used to improve physical distancing or alleviate overcrowding in classrooms.

While half of that funding is being distributed to schools this fall, the Calgary Board of Education has confirmed its portion of Ottawa’s $2-billion Safe Return to School Fund is not enough to hire new teachers or reduce class sizes.

Read more .

Tuesday

160 new cases, one additional death

The latest COVID-19 numbers from Alberta:

• 160 new cases on 16,187 tests
• One new death; 266 total
• 1,571 active cases
• 63 in hospital; 13 in ICUs

In total, there have been 17,909 confirmed cases in Alberta, including 16,072 recoveries, 1,571 active cases and 266 deaths.

There is one additional death reported today, a man in his 80s from the Edmonton zone who was not in continuing care.

— Stephanie Babych (@BabychStephanie) September 29, 2020

There are 7 schools in Alberta listed as having 5+ cases (watch list).

The newest addition to the list is Holy Trinity High School in Regional Municipality Of Wood Buffalo.

Calgary schools on the list still include Canyon Meadows School and St. Wilfrid Elementary School.

— Stephanie Babych (@BabychStephanie) September 29, 2020

Tuesday

Company ordered to stop selling marked up PPE during pandemic fined $1,500

© Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia
Exterior pics of the Calgary Courts Centre in Calgary on Monday, August 10, 2020.

Failing to comply with an order not to sell PPE at “grossly excessive” prices has cost a Calgary company a $1,500 fine.

Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston on Tuesday told provincial court Judge Heather Lamoureux that CCA Logistics Ltd. was ordered to adjust its pricing under the Consumer Protection Act after a complaint was made during the early pandemic shutdown.

Read more .