Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Doctor Deena Hinshaw took to the podium to update Albertans on the current COVID-19 situation. 

In the past 24 hours, Alberta Health Services identified 770 new COVID cases out of approximately 11,800 tests. This brings the total number of active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta to 10,434.

Right now, there are 912 Albertans in the hospital due to COVID with 201 Albertans in intensive care.

In the City of Airdrie, there are currently 234 active cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases in Rocky View County sits at 218.

When it comes to immunizations, Hinshaw says about 231,000 COVID boosters have been administered to all eligible Albertans so far. Any Albertan over the age of 75, any Albertan with the applicable underlying health conditions, as well as any First Nation, Inuit, or Metis Person over the age of 65 are eligible for the COVID-19 booster shot. 

Hinshaw will be hosting a telephone Town Hall alongside other healthcare professionals inviting all Albertans who have questions on the COVID-19 vaccine and its effects on fertility to call in and participate. No date for the Town Hall has been released, other than that it will be sometime next week, but Hinshaw says she will release more information in the coming days.

As the month of October brings with it the spooky season, Hinshaw reminded Albertans that Halloween is not the time to gather in large numbers.

"I know that many Albertans eagerly await Halloween, as my children and I also do." says Hinshaw, "The fun of finding the right costume and going out Trick or Treating is part of the joy of childhood. And we can keep this joy while at the same time protecting our communities."

Tips and advice on how to celebrate Halloween safely in the midst of the 4th COVID-19 wave have been posted on the Alberta website.

The piece of advice Hinshaw deems most important is staying home if any sickly symptoms occur within a household, no matter how mild. Households with sick members should not go trick or treating or hand out candy.

Any Halloween gatherings are advised to remain outdoors with a gathering limit of 20 people. For indoor Halloween gatherings, the current public health measures remain in place. This means no more than 10 people from 2 separate households for those who are vaccinated. Indoor social gatherings are not permitted for eligible  Albertans who are not immunized.

Those handing out candy are advised to wear a mask, whether from a costume or a face covering used on an everyday basis, and should limit contact with those coming to the door. Using tongs to hand out the candy or leaving the treats on a blanket or tray for self-serve pickup are recommended. 

This update from Hinshaw comes off the heels of the announcement from the federal government that the CRB (Canadian Recovery Benefit) will be replaced with the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit. This new benefit, which will be available until May 7 of 2022, is for those whose work is directly impacted by government-imposed lockdowns due to COVID-19. It's retroactive to October 24 of 2021 and will provide $300 a week to eligible workers. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says temporary lockdowns are still a possibility in the months to come. 

"We want Canadians to know that we intend now to put in place measures that would snap into action immediately."

Freeland also announced two new programs aimed at helping the hardest-hit sectors, replacing the wage and rent subsidies.

One such program is the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, which will be available until November 20 of 2021 but parliament plans to extend it to May 7 of 2022. The Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program applies to hotels, restaurants, bars, festivals, and travel agencies. Applicants of the program will be required to show an average monthly revenue loss of at least 40% for the first 13 qualifying periods of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and a current one-month revenue loss of the same amount.

The other new program is the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program, which will be available until mid-March of 2022. The program applies to sectors that don't fit under tourism and hospitality but are still facing significant hardships because of the pandemic.

Alongside these two new programs, the federal government also extended the Canada Recovery Hiring Program until May 7 of 2022. 

The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit remain in place as per usual with some slight changes. The sickness benefit has moved from 4 weeks to 6 weeks and the caregiving benefit has moved from 42 weeks to 44.

For more information on the current COVID-19 relief benefits CLICK HERE.