Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is offering a $100 gift card to those over 18 who get their first or second vaccination.
Soaring COVID-19 cases fuelled by the Delta variant are threatening to swamp hospitals once again
Kenney says 70 per cent of eligible Albertans – anyone over 12 – are fully vaccinated but it’s imperative to get more people inoculated to reduce daily case numbers that are the highest in Canada, topping more than 1,000 a day.
READ MORE: Alberta, Saskatchewan not planning to follow B.C. and Manitoba on broad mask mandates
The government is reinstating a provincewide mask mandate in all indoor public spaces and workplaces, except in classrooms, where decisions are being left to local school boards.
All licensed bars, restaurants, and pubs must stop alcohol sales by 10 p.m. and all businesses are being asked to rethink having staff return to work.
Unvaccinated people are asked to limit their close contacts to no more than 10 people.
On Thursday, there were 487 people with COVID-19 in hospital, with 114 of those patients in intensive care – double the totals from 11 days earlier.
The strain on health care is leading to bed closures, patient transfers to other hospitals and surgery cancellations.
The Canadian Press
