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.
What’s happening now
- The province reported Friday 158 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths. There are 1,185 active cases in Alberta.
- There’s a new outbreak at the Harmony Beef meat-processing plant in Brooks, Alta., which saw outbreaks in March and May.
- The union representing workers at the Lilydale chicken processing plant in Calgary is calling for the plant to temporarily shutter after an outbreak there.
- The CBE hosted a walk-through of Henry Wise Wood school Friday morning, demonstrating some new measures to encourage students to follow social distancing and other public health guidelines.
- Alberta says it has shipped PPE to all provincial schools, including two face masks for every student, teacher and staff member.
- Calgary Transit is expanding its fall schedule.
- Calgary crime rates plunged during the pandemic’s early months but the lockdown appears to have worsened the severity of domestic assaults, say city police.
- As teachers and school staff return to their classrooms to prepare for the new school year, Alberta’s top doctor is continuing to encourage them to add COVID-19 testing to their back-to-school to-do lists.
Friday
Friday
Union representing Lilydale workers calls for Calgary plant to shutter amid outbreak
The union representing workers at another meat-processing plant in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak is calling on the Alberta government to temporarily halt operations.
Thomas Hesse, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, said workers at the Lilydale chicken processing plant in Calgary feel unsafe after 19 of the plant’s workers tested positive for the coronavirus.
“Health and government authorities, company officials, and union representatives have closely monitored this evolving situation,” Hesse said in a statement. “Unfortunately, in spite of recent interventions, positive case numbers continue to increase. Whatever is being done is clearly not enough. The risk of spread is too high, and the possible costs are too grave.”
Sofina Foods, which operates the Calgary Lilydale plant, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
—Jason Herring
Friday
Balzac plant hit again as Calgary area records spike in COVID-19 cases
Alberta reported that a coronavirus outbreak at the Harmony Beef meat-processing plant had flared back up after previous cases at the same facility in March and May. Thirty-eight workers at the plant, just north of Calgary in Balzac, have tested positive for COVID-19 during this new outbreak.
A similarly sized outbreak
took place at Harmony Beef in early May
, and the plant
suspended its slaughter in March
after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency withheld its inspectors from the plant when a worker tested positive for COVID-19. About 440 people work at the Harmony Beef plant.
Harmony Beef spokesman Crosbie Cotton said it was disappointing to see the new cases. He said impacted workers are self-isolating and production at the plant will be reduced by 50 per cent next week.
.
Friday
Sanitizing, masks and crowd control: How COVID-19 has transformed Calgary schools
Even during a typical year, the first day of school is an occasion filled with anxiety and anticipation for parents and kids alike.
But those jitters will be amplified as students return to the classroom this fall amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Students at the Calgary Board of Education will begin to step foot back on school grounds Tuesday, while those in the Calgary Catholic School District will start their return the following day.
.
Friday
158 new cases
There’s 1,185 active #COVID19AB cases (up from 1,158 yesterday) and 12,054 recoveries. Active cases make up 8.8% of total cases, with 435 in Calgary zone (37% of all active cases). Edmonton zone has 544.
The gap between Calgary and Edmonton is once again closing.#yyc #yeg
— Jason Herring (@jasonfherring) August 28, 2020
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