As of February 8, 2022, at 11:59 p.m., the Alberta Restrictions Exemption Program will expire.
Premier Jason Kenney announced a new three step plan to safely get back to normal life on Tuesday afternoon alongside Health Minister Jason Copping and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
The plan carefully removes public health restrictions, beginning with lower risk activities to maintain protection of the healthcare system and continuing care facilities.
Step 1 – Effective February 8 at 11:59 p.m.:
- Restrictions Exemption Program (REP) ends, along with most associated restrictions.
- Entertainment venues will continue to have some specific rules in place:
- Restrictions on sale of food and beverages and consumption while seated in audience settings will be removed.
- Restrictions on closing times, alcohol service, table capacity in restaurants and interactive activities will remain in force.
- For all businesses, venues and facilities – whether they were previously eligible for the REP or not – capacity limits are removed, except for:
- Facilities with capacity of 500 to 1,000, which will be limited to 500.
- Facilities with capacity of 1,000-plus, which will be limited to 50 per cent.
Effective at 11:59 p.m. on February 13:
- Masks will no longer be required for all children and youth in schools.
- Masks will no longer be required in any setting for children aged 12 and under.
Province-wide public health restrictions will be gradually lifted in coming weeks.
Step 2 – Effective March 1:
- Any remaining provincial school requirements (including cohorting) will be removed.
- Screening prior to youth activities will no longer be required.
- Capacity limits will be lifted for all venues.
- Limits on social gatherings will be removed.
- Provincial mask mandate will be removed.
- Mandatory work from home removed.
Step 3 of the plan currently has no planned start date, as it will rely on hospitalization rates continuing to decline. The last step includes COVID-specific measures in continuing care being removed and mandatory isolation becoming a recommendation.
Additional details on all restrictions and measures in place will be released prior to each step at alberta.ca/CovidMeasures.
-Erika Rolling, Trending 55 Newsroom.
