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June 23, 2020

In the Know: Alberta’s COVID-19 Guidlines for Reopening Non-Essential Businesses

As Alberta continues to allow more non-essential businesses to reopen as part of its COVID-19 Recovery Plan, it’s important to stay in the know on how your organization is affected and what guidelines you should follow to remain legally compliant.

 

THE THREE-STAGE RECOVER PLAN

Alberta’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan is composed of three stages:

  • Stage 1 focused on reopening some businesses and services while continuing to protect Albertans.
  • Stage 2 focuses on reopening more businesses while keeping protections in place, as well as relaxing some public gathering restrictions.
  • Stage 3 will consist of opening all workplaces and relaxing public gathering restrictions.

 

STAGE 1 (May 14 – June 11, 2020)

Lifted Restrictions:

  • Retail businesses like clothing, furniture and book stores
  • All farmers’ market vendors
  • Hairstyling and barber shops
  • Cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars for table service at 50 per cent capacity
  • Some scheduled non-urgent surgeries, gradually
  • Museums and art galleries
  • Daycares and out-of-school care, with occupancy limits
  • Day camps, including summer school, with occupancy limits
  • Post-secondary institutions for course delivery, with flexibility for in-person delivery once the existing public health order prohibiting in-person classes is lifted
  • Places of worship and funeral services, if they follow sector-specific guidance
  • Dog parks and playgrounds, unless restricted by municipal authorities

 

STAGE 2 (begins june 12)

What Can Open With Restrictions:

  • K-12 schools, for requested diploma exams and summer school, following guidance
  • Libraries
  • More surgeries
  • Wellness services such as massage, acupuncture and reflexology
  • Personal services (e.g., esthetics, cosmetics, skin and body treatments, manicures, pedicures, waxing, facial treatments and artificial tanning)
  • Movie theatres and theatres
  • Community halls
  • Team sports
  • Indoor recreation, fitness and sports, including gyms and arenas
  • Pools for leisure swimming
  • VLTs in restaurants and bars
  • Bingo halls and casinos (but not table games)
  • Instrumental concerts
  • Provincial campgrounds at full capacity

Events and gatherings that can be larger in Stage 2:

  • 50 people maximum: indoor social gatherings, including wedding and funeral receptions, and birthday parties
  • 100 people maximum: outdoor events and indoor seated/audience events, including wedding and funeral ceremonies
  • No cap on the number of people (with public health measures in place):
    • Worship gatherings
    • Restaurant, cafes, lounges and bars
    • Casinos
    • Bingo halls
  • More flexibility for ‘cohort’ groups: small groups of people whose members do not always keep 2 metres apart:
    • A household can increase its close interactions with other households to a maximum of 15 people.
    • Performers can have a cohort of up to 50 people (cast members or performers).
    • Sports teams can play in region-only cohorts of up to 50 players (mini-leagues).
    • People could be part of a sports/performing and household cohort.

 

STAGE 3 (date to be determined)

Lifted Restrictions:

  • Fully reopening all businesses and services, with some restrictions
  • Larger gatherings permitted (number of people to be determined)
  • Arts and culture festivals, vocal concerts and major sporting events, with restrictions
  • Nightclubs, with restrictions
  • Industry conferences, with restrictions
  • No restrictions on non-essential travel

The Stage 3 start date will be based on the success of Stage 2. Factors include active cases, health-care system capacity, hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) cases, and infection rates. Some restrictions and enhanced protection controls will remain in place, such as physical distancing.

Guidelines for non-essential businesses

Personal hygiene, social distancing and requiring sick individuals to remain home are still required at every stage of the Recovery Plan. Where possible, non-essential businesses that reopen should still limit person-to-person contact, such as by limiting in-person meetings to only absolutely mandatory individuals, separating desks and other workspaces by 2 metres and only allowing one person per 5 square metres of open retail space.

Specific requirements and dates are subject to change at any time. Alberta’s official guidance for retail spaces can be accessed here for more information.