After hitting the 70 per cent first dose vaccination threshold on June 17th, Premier Jason Kenney says Alberta is two weeks away from dropping the majority of its mandatory COVID-19 public health measures.
“That means on July 1st, on Canada Day, Alberta’s public health measures will be lifted, and our lives will get back to normal,” Kenney says. “The sun is rising in Alberta, this is our time, the start of an exciting recovery for our province, an Alberta renaissance.”
The province says the introduction of stage three of its reopening strategy will lift the ban on indoor social gatherings, retail capacity limits, as well as the provincial indoor mask mandate. However, may still be required in limited and specific settings.
Kenney says, as of June 17th, 70.2 per cent of the eligible population, which is approximately 2.7 million people, have already received their first dose of the vaccine. He adds the credit goes to Albertans for rolling up their sleeves and getting the job done.
“I never doubted we would reach this milestone together, that we would pull together as a province and as people and get-er-done, in the true Alberta spirit,” Kenney says.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro also announced that all Albertans over the age of 12 are now eligible to book their second Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccination, so long as four weeks have passed since the first. Shandro says anyone who received an AstraZeneca dose as their first, is required to wait six weeks from their first dose.