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(Updates with latest Alberta case numbers)
By Nia Williams
CALGARY, Alberta, May 5 (Reuters) - Alberta will become the
first Canadian province to offer COVID-19 vaccines to everyone
aged 12 and over from May 10, Premier Jason Kenney said on
Wednesday, a day after he introduced tighter public health
measures to combat a raging third wave of the pandemic.
United Conservative Party premier Kenney has come under fire
for mixed public health messaging as the crest of Canada's third
wave of the pandemic shifts from Ontario to Alberta.
Oil-rich Alberta has the highest rate per capita of COVID-19
in the country, with nearly 24,000 active cases and 146 people
in intensive care. (Graphic on global cases and deaths) https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi
"We must act to bend the curve down one last time," Kenney
told a news conference.
Based on current trends, Alberta's healthcare system will be
overwhelmed within a month, he added.
On Wednesday, Alberta reported 2,271 new cases, exploding
from less than 200 in early February.
Canada has authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech
COVID-19 vaccine for use in children from 12 to 15, the first
shot to be allowed for people that young.
Under Alberta's new restrictions, schools will be confined
to online learning for two weeks, while other measures including
restaurant patios being closed will last for three weeks.
Opposition NDP leader Rachel Notley said the timelines
announced by Kenney were unrealistic.
"We are concerned that he is continuing his pattern of
over-promising and under-delivering," Notley told a news
conference on Tuesday evening.
On Wednesday, the province reported its first death of a
patient from a rare blood clot condition after receiving the
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
(Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Bill
Berkrot)
