Stage 1 of Alberta’s reopening plan starts June 1.
The day can’t come soon enough for Urban Athlete co-owner, Kohl Kehler. The Calgary gym will hold outdoor workouts, which are allowed for up to 10 people.
“We’re just rolling with the punches,” Kehler said Sunday.
“This is hopefully going to be the last one. It feels like we’ve been waiting on the last opening for a year now, so we’re really happy that we’re going to be able to offer some stuff,” he added.
Among other things, personal and wellness services, and restaurant patios will also be able to reopen. More may be reopening soon.
Alberta passed the threshold for Stage 2 on Saturday, with over 60 per cent of people 12 and older vaccinated with one dose and hospitalizations below 500.
Now the province says Stage 2 might begin June 10.
“With 60 per cent of eligible Albertans vaccinated, Stage 2 easing could begin on June 10, subject to hospitalizations being below 500 and trending downwards,” an Alberta government spokesperson said in a statement.
Stage 2 will lift the work-from-home order, allow outdoor public gatherings like concerts and festivals with up to 150 people, permit indoor fitness and dining, and allow in-person post-secondary education.
It’s too fast, though, for infections disease physician Dr. Lynora Saxinger.
“When I think about things that might be reasons to slow down, one of them is getting a better idea of whether we have the newer variant that is less protected against by a single dose of vaccine,” Saxinger explained.
“The other thing that strikes me is that the hospital is still fairly full and the ICU is still quite full as well. A bit more decompression and buffer time might be good too.”