Thread by @JWongGlobalNews

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New numbers from @jkenney:
-875 new cases
-of which 322 are variants of concern
-292 in hospital including 59 in ICU
-4 new deaths

Today marks the second day where cases are over 800, Kenney says.

Kenney issues a plea - Please follow the restrictions this weekend and in the weeks to come. Please remember there is a ban on socializing indoors, except for people in your household, he says.

If you get together, do it outdoors, Kenney says. Not gathering indoors is the single most important thing we can do at this time.

The leading indicators are telling us we are now in a significant new wave of #COVID19, Kenney says.

Kenney says in the race between vaccines and variants, the variants are winning.

He says the "simple math" shows with 8600 active cases, with a case to hospitalization ratio of 6%, with variants sending more people to hospital, we will have close to 500 #COVID19 patients just 2 weeks from now.

If the growth continues at its current pace, that will turn into 1000 people in hospital a month from now.

(Above is attributed to Kenney)

He says 33% of cases are made up of the B117 variant. This is up from 13% previously.

Kenney says #AB has administered 90% of the vaccines it has received. He believes the province can, in the future, administer up to 400k vaccines a week.

Hinshaw explains why another spike would put us all at risk: Albertans 75+ have been vaccinated but others can still face severe outcomes.

In the 2nd wave, there was a daily average of 500 Albertans under 75 in hospital with 119 of them needing ICU and 5 dying every day, Hinshaw says.

The average age of hospitalization is 62 and the average age of those needing ICU is 58, Hinshaw says.

Lethbridge mayor asking for more focused messaging in the south zone, response? Kenney says a growing number of ppl are ignoring public health measures and socializing in large groups. He hopes the recent surge of cases was a "wake up call."

Will #AB shorten period btw 1st and 2nd dose if vaccines arrive earlier than expected? Hinshaw says 4 month interval is for vaccine shortages. As province gets supply, they will offer 2nd doses as quickly as possible, she says.

Research showing 1 shot for those w/cancer, elderly does not protect them against infection, thoughts on not following through w/manufacturing timelines? Hinshaw says they're waiting for NACI perspective to help them understand if shorter interval recommended for certain groups

Will you loosen/tighten sports rules as we enter spring? Hinshaw says they're seeing cases in all different settings, including fitness facilities and some team practice settings. It's not something they want to restrict further.

If there's a surplus of AstraZeneca vaccines, will it be offered to those under 55 if they want? Hinshaw says the AB Advisory Committee on Immunization has not discussed that yet.

Why are we not taking action to curb the spread? Kenney is calling on Albertans to follow the measures. He says if ppl don't comply with current measures, they won't comply with additional ones. He says they haven't closed the door to possibility of additional targeted measures.

If they didn't listen before, what makes you think they will listen now? Kenney says people respond to the numbers. He points to Lethbridge numbers that stabilized after a surge. It seemed to get people's attention, he said.

How much do you think reopening contributed to increase? Kenney says there is growing non-compliance. Hinshaw says #AB would likely have seen an increase no matter what because people want to do the things they love.

Are we repeating what happened in the fall? Kenney says this is a different situation and #AB has expanded contact tracing, expanded healthcare capacity. He again pleas for people to take this seriously.

Jan 29, you said #AB would impose restrictions if there's exponential growth and we've now in that situation, how do you reconcile that? Kenney says non-compliance is driving viral spread. He says compliance matters more than stringency of rules.

No update from @CMOH_Alberta Tues, Wed and no detailed data over the long weekend, are you worried this could send the wrong msg? Hinshaw says they'll still provide case numbers, positivity %, etc. Kenney says they added his presence today to underscore seriousness of situation.

AFL claims province lied to Cargill workers in early days of pandemic, response? Kenney says they were transparent and forthcoming and followed medical advice.

Do you reject that claim? Kenney says he doesn't know the basis of it. He received briefings about the outbreaks and that was the source of his knowledge.