Thread by @JuliaWongCBC

And coming up at 5 pm MT: cbc.ca/news/canada/ed…

Kenney says it's clear #AB passed peak of omicron infections weeks ago. He points to England, Scotland, Denmark lifting restrictions and states like CA and NJ removing mask mandates.

He says active cases, rolling 7-day avg of new cases has dropped steadily from 7k to 2k/day with total active cases falling from 55k to about 30k now.

Kenney says COVID hospitalizations are coming down and says that is another impt leading indicator.

Kenney says the AB policy response has always been to avoid overwhelming the health system. He says the reality of the large delta wave in #AB was bc province simply didn't have high enough vaxx rate.

Kenney says restrictions no longer outweighs ppl's mental health, emotional health. Now is the time to learn to live with COVID, Kenney says.

Re-opening plan will involve 3 steps. 1st step starts with kids and youth and will remove almost all restrictions affecting children, incl removing the mask mandate for all K-12 students effective this wkd, Kenney says.

Kids 12 and under will now be exempt from the general mask mandate - that will continue to apply to indoor settings for approx. 3 weeks, Kenney says.

Kenney says kids have been subjected to a heavy and unfair burden throughout the pandemic.

Effective midnight tonight, the REP program (vaxx passport) will end, Kenney says. He says it was brought in when the healthcare capacity was under very severe stress.

Step 1 will also remove capacity limits for all except large capacity venues of over 500 ppl, he says. Then #AB will take 3 weeks to monitor trends with focus on hospitalizations. If there is downward trend on hospitalizations, #AB will proceed to step 2.

Current target date is March 1 for step 2, which will lift most remaining restrictions incl the indoor mask mandate, requirement to WFH and remaining capacity limits.

Kenney says then they will monitor trends, again with focus on hospitalizations and whether it is manageable. Step 3 would remove all remaining public health measures.

Kenney says they may have to pause some of the measures if there is sustained pressure on the healthcare system. For those who say it's too fast, he says AB has benefit of being a few wks behind other jurisdictions.

None of this is an end to COVID19, Kenney says, adding new variants will arrive. He says the overwhelming majority of Albertans are protected and they're confident #AB can ease restrictions while preventing undue strain on the healthcare system.

Health Minister Copping says they considered vaxx and anti-virals when considering removing measures, adding they won't remove measures at the expense of the healthcare system.

Copping reiterates REP will end at midnight tonight. On Feb 15 at 11:59 pm, masking requirements for children under 12 will be removed. (This clarifies Kenney's comments above)

Step 2 could begin Feb 28 at 11:59 pm, Copping says. Remaining school requirements, screening prior to youth activities, limits on gatherings, general masking requirements, mandatory WFH requirements, capacity limits for large venues, restrictions on closing times 1/2

2/2 and interactive activities in entertainment venues will be dropped, he says.

Step 3 will begin at a later date if hospitalization's trend downward, Copping says. Isolation requirements would become a recommendation, no longer mandatory, he says.

Copping says this is the transition between the pandemic and endemic stage.

Hinshaw says there has never been one right path to deal with COVID. Masking will remain mandatory in acute care and continuing care for the foreseeable future, she says.

Your MLAs negotiating with Coutts protesters, criticism policy is being driven by blockade pressure - how do you reconcile those 2 things? Kenney says they don't need to be reconciled bc they aren't true. He says no one from GoA has been negotiating with anyone engaging 1/2

2/2 in illegal actions. He says elected officials listened to protesters who are their constituents. Kenney says blockade has inconvenienced law-abiding truckers trying to make a living.

Kenney also says England, South Africa, SK, QC have loosened rules, so have states like CA and NJ and none of that has to do with a few trucks parked at the Coutts border crossing. He says disease is changing so approach to it should change as well.

Could #AB bring the REP back? Kenney says he doesn't think this program can serve any useful purpose in controlling spread now or in the future unless we were to redefine fully vaccinated as having had 3 shots. (This is something the feds have hinted at)

Why end REP in such dramatic fashion at midnight instead of giving businesses time to adapt? Kenney says it's clear vaxx numbers are frozen, program is no longer relevant. We are just stating the obvious and acting on it, he says.

#AB 1st to make this move - does that match public sentiment? Kenney says it's about being practical and realistic. He says REP got vaxx rate up and that likely saved hundreds of lives. He says other prov are following suit and adds ppl are losing patience w/2 yr of disruptions

Will businesses have the right to impose REP on customers? Kenney says they'll have that right under the law.

What's trigger point where we have to look at restrictions again? Kenney says we can reasonably hope SARS-COVID2 will go the way of Spanish flu. He says we have to be prepared for what may come at us in the future 1/2

2/2 He adds vaccines are effective and there are ppl w/antibodies acquired from prior infection.

What if businesses want to continue using QR codes? Kenney says if businesses choose to ask ppl to provide some proof of vaxx, "I suppose they can do so."

What will govt do to instill confidence to get consumers out there? Kenney says it's impt to recognize rural areas with low vaxx rate and that REP has been tough on many in the hospitality business.

What are you prepared to do to ensure #yyc and #yeg are on the same page as you with restrictions? Kenney says he wants to have longer convo with big city mayors. If it's their intention to create an entirely separate municipal public health policy that is different from the 1/2

2/2 province, I think that would be a serious problem, Kenney says. Turning policy like this into some type of local political football is not helpful, it's not conducive to public health confidence, he says.

Will this announcement help you keep your job on April 9? Kenney says today is about a careful plan to move fwd, to get our lives back to normal.

Are hospitalizations trending down? Kenney says admissions have come down from 36 cases/million to 27/million. He says we are at 87% occupancy of non-ICU beds, which is below where we normally are at this point of the year. He says positivity rate, total active cases are down

Polarizing couple of yrs - how do we move fwd from here? Kenney says everyone has grievances. He says ppl shouldn't treat those who made different vaxx decision as unclean - it's similar to how ppl treated those w/ HIV/AIDS. This is a terribly divisive attitude, he says.