Plans to lift Alberta COVID-19 restrictions to be announced this week

Premier Jason Kenney is expected to announce early this week when Albertans will see the end of the COVID-19 Restriction Exemption Program (REP) and other public health restrictions.

Promising it to be a "phased" plan, to be removed with other measures, Kenney's pledge to end the program has been met with mixed reaction.

"I think it is way too premature," said Heather Smith, head of the United Nurses of Alberta. "It's not evidence-based and it's irresponsible and reckless." 

With the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 at record levels, Smith says lifting the REP will lead to further strain on the health-care system and health-care workers.

The REP requires people in Alberta to show proof of double vaccination, a negative rapid test result taken within the past 72 hours or documentation of a medical exemption in order to enter businesses or public facilities where the program is in place.

Kenney announced the plan to lift restrictions on a Facebook Live event on Feb. 3, saying the plan would be forthcoming early this week.

Restaurateurs and other businesses in the province have voiced concerns over continued restrictions, saying their bottom lines are suffering.

Dr. Chris Mody, who heads the University of Calgary's Department of Microbiology Immunology and Infectious Diseases, says while the restrictions will need to be lifted at some point, the timing of Kenney's plan seems to be based on societal pressure rather than science.

He says the numbers of hospitalizations and deaths are still very high and it might be wise to wait a few more weeks.

However, he said it's clear the time for reopening is approaching.

"I think that the writing is on the wall, that vaccinated people are eventually going to say, 'Why am I participating in all these restrictions when what I'm really accomplishing is protecting unvaccinated people and they made a choice,'" Mody said.

"There may be events that will occur — another variant, for example — where we would have to reimpose restrictions," he said.

However, Smith points to the premier's failed promise in 2021 of the "best summer ever" — when his government lifted restrictions only to trigger a huge spike in infections, hospitalizations and deaths — as a cautionary tale against another premature reopening.

As a representative of nurses in Alberta, Smith says she sees increasing hospitalizations and high test positivity rates as a strong reason to remain cautious.