Phase 2 of Alberta’s COVID-19 strategy could be coming in a few weeks.

It was revealed that today some businesses opened against provincial rules. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health, addressed the issue and said there will be consequences.

Hinshaw said, “Part of that protection and preventing those deaths, preventing our healthcare system from being overwhelmed, is all of us including business owners making choices that support our communities. I recognize that business owners are being impacted by the restrictions and that these are causing hardships for many individuals. I also recognize that if we do not have an approach that involves all of our community members working together to prevent spread, we risk having more spread, we risk having more deaths and increasing that burden on our healthcare system.”

In terms of statistics, in Strathmore, there are now 57 active cases and in Wheatland County, there are 32 active cases of the virus.

Over the last 24 hours, there were 652 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the province with 819 people in the hospital and 132 in the ICU, and 38 new deaths that were reported to Alberta Health.

Hinshaw also spoke of the expansion of the immunization program that was announced this week.

“As we get a clearer picture on the number of vaccines available we will be able to make decisions on Phase 2 in the coming weeks,” said Hinshaw.

She asked people to make safe choices and follow public health restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.