Alberta Liberals Call for Circuit Breaker Shutdown

Originally Published May 24, 2021

Alberta Liberal Interim Leader John Roggeveen issues the following statement in reaction to today’s announced COVID-19 restrictions: 

“The Kenney Government’s barely heightened COVID-19 restrictions are pathetically inadequate. The UCP half-measures will keep Alberta in a perpetual COVID-19 Groundhog Day. An enforced circuit breaker shutdown is the only way to overcome this virulent, potentially lethal threat. A 10% positivity rate is alarming. The variants are winning.

“To defeat the COVID-19 virus we need strong, resolute action. We must shut down in-person attendance at our schools now, close all non-essential businesses, declare stay-at-home orders and enforce tougher restrictions on essential businesses.  We now have 10,809 active cases, including 4,604 variant cases. This sharp rise in cases – and more harmful variants in particular – can’t be taken lightly.

“Alberta can’t afford to treat this wave of the pandemic the same as the last one. Variant cases are proving more transmissible and more deadly. We need a stronger response for a more dangerous phase of the pandemic. Non-compliance is no excuse for half measures. Alberta has the highest number of cases per capita in Canada. This health emergency demands stricter enforcement. 

“Albertans want competent leadership and science-based solutions to the pandemic. A spineless government will prolong the agony. We need a broad shutdown now to stop the explosion of COVID-19 cases, as the December shutdown did, and put Alberta back on the path to recovery. This is the right move for Albertans’ safety and for Alberta’s economy. Regrettably, Jason Kenney and the UCP are failing Albertans again.”