The Pulse: Dec. 9, 2020

The provincial government has announced new measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. Mandatory masking is in place across Alberta and all indoor and outdoor social gatherings are prohibited effective Dec. 8. The new restrictions are in place for at least the next four weeks.

Here are some of the main points:

• Effective Dec. 13, retail services are required to reduce customer capacity to 15% of fire code occupancy, while restaurants, pubs, bars, lounges, cafes must close but are allowed to operate for curbside pickup, takeout and delivery. Regulated health services like dentists and physiotherapists can stay open by appointment. Personal and wellness services like tattoo parlours, hair salons, and massage therapy must close.
• All fitness and entertainment facilities like gyms, recreation centres, indoor rinks, libraries, and museums must close as of Dec. 13.
• Working from home is mandatory in cases where people do not need to be physically present to do their jobs. This is in effect as of Dec. 13.
• Out-of-town visitors are not allowed to stay in other people's homes while the restrictions are in place, and all out-of-town travel is discouraged.

An overwhelming majority — 89% of 272 residents who voted — have voted for Wabamun to dissolve as a village and become a hamlet within Parkland County.

"I thought the results would be a little bit closer but frankly I am relieved," Wabamun Mayor Charlene Smylie told Postmedia.

Residents campaigned for the change last year, saying TransAlta's departure led to a decline in reserve funds and service quality. According to CBC News, when the coal plant left approximately ten years ago the first calls for the change were made.

The University of Alberta has started a new clinical trial in an effort to combat a syphilis outbreak in Northern Alberta.

The clinical trial will screen 1,500 at-risk Albertans at homeless shelters, the Edmonton Remand Centre, two emergency departments at Edmonton hospitals, and two clinics in First Nations communities in northern Alberta, reported the Canadian Press.

Screening will be done with Canadian-made dual HIV and syphilis trial kits that can provide results within five minutes. All participants will also get the standard laboratory test to confirm the accuracy of the test kits.

"The advantage, if these tests work, is that you could provide treatment at the same visit if the test result was positive," said U of A clinical professor Ameeta Singh, who is also an infectious diseases specialist at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the Edmonton Sexually Transmitted Infections Clinic.

Singh said she is hoping to see 90% accuracy.

This week's word is "peyahtik" which means "be careful" in Cree. Here's how to pronounce it.

The Cree word of the week was featured by local strategic communications agency Naheyawin in 2018. Republished with permission!

• The Canadian military is "preparing for possible deployment of troops in the Prairie provinces", reports CBC News. In an exclusive story, CBC learned the military could arrive in Alberta as soon as Dec. 12 to help with the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The city is projecting a $152-million budget deficit in 2021 due to COVID-19.
• Contract tracers will be assessing school staff exposures on a case-by-case basis, and "masked workers who were more than two metres from a person with COVID may not have to stay home."
• An Edmonton lawyer is worried about the province's plan to move to reflective license plates. Austin Corbett says they "could pose privacy issues if restrictions on the use and storage of data are not imposed."