Limited school and minor sports training will be allowed under Step 1 of Alberta’s four-step framework to carefully ease restrictions as pressure on the health system declines.
Starting Feb. 8, children and youth will be allowed to participate in lessons, practices, and conditioning activities for indoor and outdoor team-based minor sports and athletics. All games continue to be prohibited.
“Alberta’s government is committed to supporting the health and well-being of children and youth province-wide. While these activities are included in Step 1, there are strong measures in place that must continue to be followed," said Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health. "Let’s all continue doing our part to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health system that every Albertan relies on.”
While limited indoor and outdoor activities for school and minor sports are allowed, strong public health measures remain in place:
- All participants must be 18 years old or younger, excluding coaches or trainers.
- A maximum of 10 individuals, including all coaches, trainers, and participants, can participate.
- All participants must maintain physical distancing from each other at all times.
- Participants must be masked at all times, except when engaged in the physical activity.
- Coaches and trainers must remain masked at all times.
- There must be limited access to change rooms, including for accelerated arrival and departure, for emergencies, and washroom use.
“Despite this small change, one thing remains the same: we all need to be cautious and make safe choices to limit the spread of COVID-19," said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health. "It is vital that everyone involved diligently follows the health measures as we move forward. Together, we can continue to reduce the spread and keep protecting our health system.”
All other previously announced measures set to ease in Step 1 will also be permitted starting on Feb. 8 as part of Alberta’s four-step path forward.
Indoor masking and distancing requirements will remain in place throughout this stepped approach, and some degree of restrictions will still apply to all activities within each step.
A decision on Step 2 will be made if, after three weeks, there are 450 or fewer hospitalizations and the number is declining. The same re-evaluation period will be used for all subsequent steps.
Metrics based on cases and growth, including COVID-19 variants, are being monitored and will also be used to guide any decisions around the need to pause further steps or potentially increase restrictions.