An update on COVID-19 in Alberta Tuesday evening has been cancelled.
Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, premier and health minister were originally scheduled to provide an update on COVID-19 at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The news conference was then pushed back to 5 p.m.
In an update shortly before 2:30 p.m., the Alberta government said the update was cancelled.
Brock Harrison, the executive director of communications and planning for the premier of Alberta, said on Twitter that the COVID-19 update was postponed after the prime minister scheduled a call with all premiers to discuss the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
That call is scheduled for 4 p.m. MT Tuesday.
The province did not say when the next COVID-19 update would happen. Harrison said on social media the update would “likely” happen Wednesday.
It was anticipated that Premier Jason Kenney would announce an update on public health measures during Tuesday’s news conference. The premier said Friday that the province would provide clear guidance for holiday gatherings at a COVID-19 update early this week.
“We’ll be very clear about the framework for public health next Tuesday,” Kenney said Friday.
“We think it’s the right time for us, potentially, to move forward with some modest, common-sense relaxation of measures for Christmas holidays.”
On Monday afternoon, Global News confirmed Albertans will be receiving a free rapid test kit ahead of the holidays. However, when the rollout will happen and the process for how to get one remains unclear.
Albertans were expected to learn more about the rapid test initiative Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday’s COVID-19 update
As of Dec. 14, there were 250 new reported cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours out of 6,419 tests. Currently, there are 366 people in hospital with COVID-19, with 70 in intensive care.
Eight COVID-19 deaths were reported to Alberta Health Tuesday. There are 4,016 active COVID-19 cases in the province, which is a drop of 166 from the weekend’s numbers. The province also reported 20 new cases of the Omicron variant — the highest 24 hour total since the variant was first detected in the province.
Three of the deaths were reported in the Central zone: a man in his 60s, a woman in her 70s, and a woman in her 80s, all with pre-existing conditions.
Two deaths were reported in the North zone: a man in his 60s and a man in his 70s, with the man in his 60s reportedly having a pre-existing condition.
Two deaths were reported in the Edmonton zone: a man in his 70s and a man in his 80s, both with pre-existing conditions. Another death was reported in the Calgary zone: a man in his 80s in the North zone with pre-existing conditions.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 3,283 Albertans have died from COVID-19.