The Pulse: March 30, 2021

The University of Alberta and Telus are teaming up over the next five years to create a 5G “Living Lab” with the aim to invest in new research and technology with commercial applications, beginning with precision agriculture and autonomous vehicle systems.

Telus will invest $15 million in the project to provide the 5G technology required to boost the U of A's "innovation and commercialization capacity."

“This investment in 5G advanced infrastructure will not only stimulate economic growth, diversification and innovation in Canada, but it will transform the Alberta ecosystem for technology and innovation,” said U of A president Bill Flanagan. “This is the sort of diversification opportunity that provincial, education and business leaders are pushing for in order to position Alberta to compete globally.

“It reinforces Telus’ remarkable reputation as a technology company driving emerging opportunities.”

• "Paid parking at large parks and amenities, a reduction in programs, and outsourcing of golf course and recreation centre operations to third parties are options being looked at by the City of Edmonton to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic," reports the Edmonton Journal. No decisions have been made about the services, city manager Andre Corbould explained on March 29.
• The province has released a new draft of the K-6 curriculum which is set to be piloted in some classrooms this fall.
• The country's first Métis-led vaccine clinic has opened in Edmonton. “Métis Albertans have unique health needs that put us at severe health risks for outcomes like hospitalization or death related to COVID-19,” Métis Nation of Alberta director of health Reagan Bartel said.
• Alberta has temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for people under the age of 55 following a recommendation from Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization. There have been several reports of blood clots from patients in Europe.
• Compensation for more than 400 post-secondary executives across the province has been capped due to new provincial guidelines outlining pay and benefits that can be offered to senior leaders.
• The Edmonton Journal wrote about PCL Construction president and CEO Dave Filipchuk and how the company has "adapted to the new normal" during COVID-19.

The historic Fairmont Hotel Macdonald is launching its first-ever pop-up restaurant next month called Ephemeral. The initiative is the latest in a series of pivots the restaurants inside the hotel have undertaken to sustain business throughout the pandemic, such as offering curbside pickup and organizing socially-distanced outdoor events.

Ephemeral will run over two weekends, April 15-17 and April 22-24. The Mac has partnered with local artist Giselle Denis, florist FaBLOOMosity, and Special Event Rentals to evoke a “magical garden sanctuary” in the Wedgewood Room. Guests will enjoy a 4-course meal and two signature cocktails inspired by the floral art and the promise of spring.

Danielle Lundy, the director of sales & marketing for the hotel, told Taproot that it was the change in season that ultimately led to this pop-up.

“We’ve infused this feeling of renewal into every part of Ephemeral, from the elaborate floral décor, to the forest landscape paintings to our nature inspired menu,” she said.

On March 22, the provincial government announced it would not move to Step 3 of its reopening plan. The decision was based on the upward trend of COVID-19 cases, like this chart, which shows daily new case numbers over time.

COVID-19 hospitalizations were supposed to be less than 300 to move forward with Alberta's reopening plan. This condition was technically met on March 22, but at the time Health Minister Tyler Shandro said that based on recent trends, the province expected hospitalizations to rise above 300 by the end of the week. As of March 29, there were 277 hospitalizations.

The province announced a second state of public health emergency amid a spike in cases in November 2020. Premier Jason Kenney announced the staged reopening plan in January, when it looked as though the curve was flattening. Step 1 and 2 of the plan were carried out while cases were still trending downwards in February and early March, respectively. However, as Alberta opened back up, case numbers started to rise again.

Some predicted this outcome, such as University of Alberta PhD candidate Conor Ruzycki, who said that opening restaurants posed a danger because of aerosol transmission. Malgorzata (Gosia) Gasperowicz, a developmental biologist at the University of Calgary, also predicted a rise in case numbers back in February, modeling a third wave of COVID-19 occurring under Step 1 of the plan, fueled primarily by the B.1.1.7 U.K. variant of the virus.

Gasperowicz' predictions line up with the data that is now available, indicating another spike is potentially on the way, even without the move to Step 3.