Officials delivered good news today for Albertans who live alone with an exemption of restrictions for the holidays and is as follows: "We are providing a one-time exemption to the gathering limit for people who live alone. Between December 23rd and 28th, an individual living alone may join another household for one gathering only during this period. A household must only host a maximum of two people who live alone (not including minors) and only one event. This approach strives to balance mental wellness for individuals living alone and the need to limit COVID-19 spread.

To be clear: we are providing a five-day window – from Dec. 23 to 28th to accommodate schedules for first responders and others who may work variable shifts. However, an individual living alone may only attend one gathering during this time."

The numbers update for Tuesday, December 22 was as follows:

  • Cochrane has dropped another three cases for a total of 41 active cases.
  • Rocky View County dropped another four cases for a total of 95 active cases. 
  • There were 1,021 new cases reported in the past 24 hours. 
  • There are 802 people in the hospital with 152 in ICU.
  • There were 14,199 tests performed for a positivity rate of 7.2%.
  • There were 11 more deaths reported in the past 24 hours for a total of 871 in the province. 
  • To date, 73,298 people have recovered from the virus in the province. 

Premier Kenney, Health Minister Shandro, and Dr. Deena Hinshaw echoed the same message. While the active daily case numbers are trending down, it is absolutely imperative that all Albertans stay the course in following the health protocols in order to continue to bend the curve. It is particularly important to do so over the holidays or we could very easily see another spike in COVID 19 numbers.