May 09, 2021 - 3:00 PM
The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):
5:55 p.m.
Alberta is reporting 1,633 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths.
The new cases were identified from 15,509 tests, for a test-positivity rate of 10.3 per cent.
There are 668 people with COVID-19 in Alberta hospitals, with 155 patients in intensive care.
Variants of concern now make up 44.5 per cent of Alberta s active COVID-19 cases. -
4:15 p.m.
Saskatchewan is setting May 30 as the target date for the first step of its COVID-19 Re-opening Roadmap.
An announcement from the province says restaurants and bars will open with a maximum of six to a table, distanced between other tables.
Vaccination Clinic Dates For Teachers And Staff Released 919thebend.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 919thebend.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Zoë Watson, the superintendent of the Anglophone South School District. (Image: Tamara Steele)
The Anglophone South School District has seen a spike in student absences since Zone 2 moved to the Red phase this week.
Numbers provided by the school district show around 15 per cent of students were absent Monday and Tuesday.
That figure jumped to 23 per cent on Wednesday the first day in the Red phase and 27 per cent on Thursday.
Zoë Watson, the superintendent of the school district, said she was not surprised by the increase.
“We had noted that same jump in absenteeism back in November when our area went to the Orange phase for the first time,” Watson said in an interview Thursday.
Posted: Jan 19, 2021 9:45 AM AT | Last Updated: January 20
Premier Blaine Higgs and Dr. Jennifer Russell urged residents to continue to follow Public Health measures as the province moves to the yellow phase, warning the variants are still a threat. (Submitted by the Government of New Brunswick)
Classes were cancelled on Thursday after a case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the school community.
In a letter to parents, principal JoEllen Jensen says custodial staff worked all day to disinfect classrooms and common areas.
“It’s a super important time to keep those masks up over noses, practice physical distancing and wash those hands,” Jensen wrote.
“I highly recommend downloading the COVID-19 app on your phones, as we saw that in action today. It works.”
Students in the M-to-Z cohort will return to class Friday while all other students will learn virtually.
Public Health said unless you have been contacted directly by them, you have not been identified as a close contact of the confirmed case.