Premier to present COVID-19 modelling during province-wide televised address Tuesday
Posted Apr 6, 2020 7:19 pm.
Last Updated Apr 7, 2020 9:03 am.
EDMONTON (660 NEWS) — Premier Jason Kenney will hold a televised address Tuesday evening on the fight against COVID-19 and present modelling projections put together by health officials.
“We will be providing some of the modelling done by Alberta Health Services that shows us when we might hit the peak and how well prepared we are for that,” the premier announced during a news conference in Edmonton on Monday.
He asked that people be prepared to hear “disturbing worst-case scenarios” as they present the perspective of damage this virus might have on the province.
Tomorrow night Kenney will hold a televised address giving details on Alberta’s modelling of COVID-19. He says the following day more details will be given on Alberta’s outcome
— Jeff Slack (@Jeffslack660) April 6, 2020
“I think a question a lot of Albertans want to know is when is this all going to be over. We will not be able to answer that with certainty, but I think we can give people a sense of when we think we might be able to begin to relax some of the public health orders and social distancing protocols and get back to some kind of normal,” Kenney added.
“I think Albertans will see that because they have been responding so well to the public health orders, to social distancing, to good hygiene, that we are in a much better position than similar jurisdictions around the world.”
The premier is also going to address the economic challenges Alberta is facing as the economy has shut down and the price of oil plummeted.
A full rundown of the modelling will be presented Wednesday by Health Officials.
The legislature will reconvene Tuesday morning to consider further amendments to the Emergency Management Act along with a possible motion to call on the federal government for urgent financial backstop for the energy sector.
Ontario released its projections on Friday that suggested 100,000 people in that province could have died from COVID-19, without current public health measures.
With physical distancing and other safety measures, along with closing schools before March break, the same projections predict 3,000 to 15,000 deaths over the course of the pandemic, according to Ontario Public Health.
Officials expect 1,600 deaths and 80,000 cases by April 30 under the current scenario.
Premier Kenney will address the province Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. and it will be carried live on 660 NEWS and CityNews.
