COVID-19 Weekly Regional Update
Michelle Pinon
News Advertiser
As of July 27, Alberta Health was reporting a total of 10,470 confirmed cases. As far as new confirmed cases, on July 24, 103 on July 25, 91 on July 26, and 80 on July 27. There were 1,397 active cases and 8,886 recovered cases. A total of 88 people are in hospital with 16 of those in intensive care. Altogether there have been 187 deaths. A total of 659,242 tests, (7,900 on July 27) which have been completed.
In Vegreville/Minburn County there were 5 cases, 1 active cases, 4 recovered cases, and 0 deaths. In Two Hills County there were 9 cases, 2 active cases, 7 recovered cases, and 0 deaths. In Lamont County there were 6 cases, 0 active cases, 6 recovered cases, and 0 deaths. In Beaver County there were 17 cases, 9 active cases, 8 recovered cases, and 0 deaths. In Tofield there were 7 cases, 2 active cases, 5 recovered cases, and 0 deaths. In Viking there were 10 cases, 7 active cases, 3 recovered cases, and 0 deaths.
On July 28 Premier Jason Kenney announced the Alberta government will be providing municipalities with $500 million in additional funding to build shovel-ready infrastructure projects starting in 2020 that would create thousands of jobs. In addition, Alberta will match $233 million in federal funding to support municipal operating costs during the pandemic and $70 million to support public transit operating costs – for a total of $606 million under the Safe Restart Agreement.
“The past five months have been tough for Albertans as we faced the global coronavirus recession, the unprecedented collapse of energy prices, and the COVID-19 pandemic. But Albertans are resilient, and Alberta’s Recovery Plan is a bold plan to build, diversify, and create jobs. This investment will provide municipalities with the funding they need to get through this crisis, create good jobs now, and build the infrastructure that will fuel economic growth in our province for generations to come,” stated Kenney.
“Alberta’s communities play a critical role in our economy and we want to help them get shovel-ready projects into the ground immediately to create jobs, drive economic growth and improve Alberta’s competitive position. We’re also asking municipalities to reduce taxes and red tape to make it easier to start up a new business, speed up approvals for development permits and make their municipality a better place to invest. Together, we’ll continue to make Alberta the best place to live and do business in North America,” stated the Minister of Municipal Affairs Kaycee Madu.
“Supporting municipalities during this time of financial difficulty is critical to the successful relaunch of the Alberta economy. AUMA is pleased with the commitment of new funding over and above previously announced provincial support. We are encouraged the government recognizes the challenges municipalities face and the need for operational support from the province to ensure municipal services are maintained and municipalities are well-positioned to help lead Alberta’s economic recovery,” said Barry Morishita, president, Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
