COVID-19 explained: Everything you need to know about the novel coronavirus

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everyone. This is your guide to understanding how the crisis is evolving in Alberta and Canada. This post will be updated regularly.

What is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is an illness that is caused by a novel coronavirus, known as SARS CoV 2. Coronaviruses are large families of viruses that cause a variety of sickness ranging from the common cold to more severe illnesses.

COVID-19 is short for Coronavirus Disease 2019.

What are the symptoms?

COVID-19 causes a range of symptoms including sore throat, muscle aches, headaches, coughs, difficulty breathing and in more severe cases, pneumonia. For most otherwise healthy people symptoms often mirror that of the common cold, but for others, and in particular seniors and those with weakened immune systems, symptoms can be severe and require intensive hospital care.

Many of those who are infected will experience very mild symptoms or none at all.

How sick are people getting?

For most people under 60 with no pre-existing conditions, COVID-19 will feel like a common cold. However, illnesses can also include pneumonia that sends people to intensive care in hospital and thousands of people across the globe are dying from COVID-19.

While those over 60 accounted for little over a third of all cases, that age group accounted for over 60 per cent of those admitted to hospital for COVID-19, as of April 21, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Those over 60 also account for 90 per cent of recorded deaths from COVID-19 in Canada.

People of any age with underlying medical conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and lung disease appear to be at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

However, there are cases of otherwise healthy people under the age of 40 who are becoming very sick and, in some cases, dying. An Edmonton woman in her 20s with no known existing health conditions died in early April.


How fatal is COVID-19?

In Canada, it is 4.6 per cent, as of April 21. By comparison, the mortality rate for the flu is about 0.1 per cent. However, because it is unclear how many people are infected but without symptoms, mortality rates may not be accurate.

Is there a treatment?

There is currently no vaccine or treatment for COVID-19. Many individuals have recovered from the disease on their own.

How do I protect myself?

The best form of protection is practicing good hygiene, especially frequent hand washing, staying home, and practicing physical distancing (sometimes referred to as social distancing).

Physical or social distancing has become a buzz-phrase for public health professionals since COVID-19 outbreaks started in North America. The public is asked to stay home and only leave for essential reasons such as getting groceries.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said it is OK to go outside for a walk around your neighbourhood if you do not have symptoms of COVID-19. However, when out in public, people are asked to stay two metres (six feet) apart from one another.

Some businesses are limiting the amount of customers they allow inside at once and many grocery stores have marked where to stand while waiting in lines.

When washing your hands, it is recommended to do so for at least 20 seconds.

It is also recommended to avoid touching your face, and to clean and disinfect regularly-used surfaces frequently.

Flattening the curve

How is COVID-19 spread?

COVID-19 is spread mainly by coughing, sneezing or direct contact with either someone who is sick or a surface a sick person has touched.

When water droplets travel from an infected person to someone else, that person can become infected.

This is why people are advised to avoid touching their face and stay two metres, or six feet, away from others when in public.

It is advised to cough or sneeze into the bend of your arm to avoid spreading the virus to others.

Should I wear a mask when I go outside?

Wearing a mask is a way for people who might have COVID-19 without realizing it to keep from spreading the illness to others, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said on April 6.

Tam had previously advised against people without symptoms from wearing masks.

She now says masks worn this way protect others more than they protect the people wearing them, and don’t exempt wearers from all the other measures they should take against COVID-19, including physical distancing and regular handwashing.

Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw says non-medical or home-made cloth masks do not protect those who wear them, but they can contain respiratory droplets produced when people speak.

They are recommended for those who can’t avoid close contact under two metres with others.

What is a pandemic?

The World Health Organization classifies a pandemic as “the worldwide spread of a new disease”. A pandemic typically affects more people than seasonal illnesses as people’s immune systems lack pre-existing immunity to the new virus.

Where did the coronavirus come from?

While it is not known where the new coronavirus initially came from, it emerged in the Wuhan district of China. Many of the first cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, has been traced back to a fish market in Wuhan near a major train station.

Wuhan is a city of 11-million people and is a major transportation hub. The city went under a full quarantine and lockdown in the early days of COVID-19, however it still spread throughout the country partially due to people travelling for the Chinese lunar new year.

How does COVID-19 compare to the flu?

There are similarities and differences between COVID-19 and the flu.

They both affect the respiratory system and they are both spread through small droplets from the nose and mouth.

However, there is no current vaccine or treatment for COVID-19. The novel coronavirus also tends to impact those affected more severely. The average mortality rate of COVID-19 is estimated at one to two deaths per 100 infections whereas the flu’s rate is about one in 1,000.

What does ‘flatten the curve’ mean?

Health professionals are continuously urging the public to help flatten the curve. This means they want everyone to do their part to reduce the peak number of cases that their community will see.

The number of cases over time, when plotted on a graph, will form a hump-like curve. To flatten the curve is to reduce the height of that hump and keep it below the maximum capacity of the health-care system.

Premier Jason Kenney said his government expects the height of the curve to come to Alberta in mid-May.

Some measures Alberta is taking to flatten the curve are limiting gatherings to 15 people, encouraging people who aren’t feeling well to stay home, ordering those with symptoms to self-isolate and closing public facilities and non-essential stores.

I am feeling sick. What should I do?

Alberta has expanded testing eligibility to anyone with symptoms such as cough, fever, sore throat or runny nose.

Anyone with symptoms is being asked to self-isolate and take the provincial government’s online assessment tool, rather than calling HealthLink.

If you have shortness of breath, you require immediate medical attention. Call 911 and inform them you may have COVID-19.

If you have symptoms you should self-isolate for 10 days or until your symptoms go away, whichever is longer.

You should not go to the hospital or a doctor’s office without calling ahead first to let them know you may have COVID-19.

What is self-isolation?

Self-isolation means staying home, avoiding close contact with family members and not allowing visitors into your house.

You should also isolate yourself from other people in the house and use a separate washroom if possible.

To avoid contact with others, arrange for a friend or family to drop off food and other supplies outside your home. It’s important to also wash your hands regularly, for at least 20 seconds every time, and keep surfaces clean.

If you become sick, you must self-isolate for 10 days or until you are feeling well, whichever takes longer.

Anyone returning from international travel must self-isolate for 14 days or face a $1,000 fine for each offence.

Anyone who has been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 must also self-isolate for 14 days.

How bad is this going to get?

Alberta is predicting as many as 800,000 COVID-19 infections and between 400 and 3,100 deaths, with the peak of the cases arriving in mid-May.

The figures fall under a “probable scenario” in an Alberta Health Services model.

The model suggests the province may need to keep current public health orders in place until the end of May.

In a more serious but less likely “elevated” model, the province expects to see infections peak at the beginning of May, with as many as 1 million infections, and between 500 and 6,600 deaths.


The federal government is projecting between 11,000 and 22,000 COVID-19 deaths, according modelling released in may. Under the worst-case scenario with no measures in place, the model showed deaths would easily top 300,000.

Alberta’s response

The Alberta government declared a state of public health emergency. What does that mean?

Alberta declared a state of public health emergency on March 17.

Under the Public Health Act, the order stands for 90 days and gives the government the authority to:

-Acquire or use any real or personal property;

-Authorize or require any qualified person to render aid of a type the person is qualified to provide;

-Authorize the conscription of persons needed to meet an emergency;

-Authorize the entry into any building or on any land, without warrant, by any person;

-Provide for the distribution of essential health and medical supplies and provide, maintain and co-ordinate the delivery of health services.

What is physical distancing?

Alberta Health recommends a distance of two metres, the length of a bicycle, between others when going out for groceries, medical trips or other essential needs. Albertans are advised to limit the number of times you need to leave your home to avoid overcrowding.

Anyone feeling sick or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 is asked to stay home and self-isolate.

What restrictions is the government putting on public gatherings?

The government has limited public gatherings to 15 people or fewer, down from 50 previously and 250 before that.

Non-essential businesses have been ordered closed. Who does this apply to?

The province has ordered all non-essential businesses to close, including:

-Personal services like salons and tattoo parlours as well as retail stores like clothing stores and gaming and hobby shops.

-All passenger ropeways, like gondolas and chairlifts, are closed until further notice.

-Dine-in services at restaurants are prohibited. Take-out, delivery and drive-through services are still allowed. Not-for-profit community kitchens, soup kitchens and religious kitchens are permitted to stay open.

-Health services like dentists, massage therapists and physiotherapists can no longer provide non-emergency services.

-Workplaces with more than 15 people that are not otherwise banned or restricted can continue to work as long as they follow all public health guidelines, including social distancing measures.


These services are exempt from the 15 person limit, so long as they provide two metres of physical distancing, or otherwise limit contact between people.

-Public transit.

-Shelters and temporary or transitional housing facilities.

-Residential addiction treatment services.

-Work camp dining facilities.

What counts as an essential service?

The province has released a lengthy list of services deemed to be essential. It includes:

-Grocery and convenience stores as well as producers like butchers and bakers.

-Public health services, public safety services including police, fire and EMS, as well as assisted living facilities, seniors’ lodging and homeless shelters.

-Energy, utilities and transportation services.

-Petroleum product storage, terminals, rail transport, road transport as well as crude oil storage facilities, pipelines and transportation facilities and petroleum refinery facilities.

What is Alberta doing for nursing home residents?

Long-term care facilities have been linked to about two thirds of all COVID-19 deaths in Alberta. McKenzie Towne Continuing Care Home in Calgary is the hardest hit, with more than 90 cases and a third of all deaths in the province.

The province took over day-to-day operations of Manoir du Lac in McLennan for being understaffed and otherwise providing inadequate care.

New rules

-Visitation has been limited to patients who are dying.

-Staff are prohibited from working at more than one facility

-All staff and residents at facilities with outbreaks are to be tested whether they have symptoms or not

-Staff must wear masks at all times when providing care to residents.

More staff

-The province will spend 7.5 million per month to hire 1,000 more health care aides, up to 1,000 practicum students and a $2 per hour wage top up for health-care aides.

Enforcement and fines

Anyone violating public health orders faces a $1,000 fine per offence. Courts will also now be able to administer fines of up to $100,000 for a first offence and up to $500,000 for subsequent offences.

Orders that are being enforced include:

  • Mandatory 14-day isolation for people returning from outside the country or who have come into contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19.
  • Mandatory 10-day isolation for anyone with symptoms including cough, fever, shortness of breath, runny nose or sore throat that are not related to a pre-existing health condition.
  • Limiting public gatherings to 15 people.
  • Closing of non-essential businesses.
  • Nursing home guidelines, including limiting visitors only for dying patients, staff wearing masks, and preventing staff from working at more than one facility.

How many cases are in Alberta?

Can I still go to work? What about my friend’s house? The park?

If you are feeling well, you can still go to work, but Alberta Heath recommends taking extra precautions including physical distancing and frequent hand washing. Hinshaw asks Albertans to avoid homes other than their own to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

City parks remain open, but most equipment and amenities including playgrounds and the city’s four fenced-in dog parks are closed.

Residents can go on walks in the parks, but health officials urge residents to adhere to the two-metre physical distancing directive and only go with members of their households.

Is it safe to eat take out food?

Yes. There is no evidence the illness can be transmitted through food.

Why are schools closed?

The Alberta government made the decision to indefinitely close all schools on March 16 because schools and school boards were finding it difficult to adhere to all the public health measures. All provincial achievement tests and Grade 12 diploma exams have been cancelled as well. Each student will get final grades and a report card. Schools are offering at-home work for K to 12 students.

How will students be learning?

Teachers are providing students at-home work online or through accommodations like course packages and telephone check-ins. Teachers are determining what content to cover based on the remaining curriculum and tasks that are reasonable to do at home.

What is the province doing to help people laid off?

The Alberta government had offered an isolation-support payment of $1,146 for those who experienced a significant loss of income as a result of having to self-isolate or take time off as the sole caregiver of a dependent who is self-isolating before April 1.

The payment was intended as a bridge payment for those not eligible for other forms of income support, until federal payments began. The provincial program ended April 6 when applications opened for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (see below).

There were complaints that those eligible for Alberta’s program were unable to access benefits before applications closed because the system had become overloaded.

Physical distancing

What else is the province doing?

The province is also offering three months of payment deferral for residential electricity and natural gas bills, but Albertans need to contact their utility companies directly.

Residential education property taxes will also be frozen at last year’s level, reversing the 3.4 per cent population and inflation increase planned for 2020.

What about renters?

On March 27, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced no one will be evicted for failing to pay rent on April 1. He also suspended enforcement actions related to non-payment that were already in the queue before the pandemic.

Late fees are also suspended for the next three months, and rent increases are frozen for the duration of the public health emergency.

In addition, landlords were told to negotiate payment plans with tenants whose incomes have been affected by the pandemic.

“Renters will be obliged to pay their rent as fully and consistently as possible, and both the renters and the landlords will be obliged to take into account the financial supports they’re getting from the provincial and federal governments,” Kenney said.

All protections for renters are voided if they wilfully damage the property or engage in illegal activity there.

Do I still have to pay my utility bills?

Yes, however Alberta is allowing some deferments. On March 27, Kenney said the province is taking steps to protect Albertans unable to pay their power and heating bills “due to COVID-related financial hardship.”

He said the province is “working with utility companies to defer payments for 90 days without fear of being cut off.” Albertans need to contact their providers.

What about my mortgage?

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is allowing banks to permit mortgage payment deferrals for up to six months.

According to the CMHC: “The deferral is an agreement between you and your lender. Typically, the agreement indicates that you and your lender have agreed to pause or suspend your mortgage payments for a certain amount of time.”

After the agreement ends, your mortgage payments go back to normal. You still must pay the principal and accumulated interest from the deferment period.

What about businesses?

Alberta announced hotels and other lodgings can delay paying the tourism levy until the end of August but are still expected to file returns and must still collect the tax from guests.

The collection of corporate income tax and instalment payments is also deferred until Aug. 31.

Private employers can defer paying Workers’ Compensation Board premiums until 2021. The province will pay 50 per cent of 2020 WCB premiums for small and medium businesses.

Utility payments for farms and small commercial customers can be deferred for the next 90 days.

When can we go back to work?

The province’s plan to reactivate the economy after the peak of the crisis passes will take cues from countries like Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea, which have managed to keep most of their economies functioning.

The strategy includes aggressive mass testing at a rate of 20,000 per day, better tracing of close contacts of those who are infected, and strong border screening.

Smart phone apps to enforce quarantine orders could also be on the table.

Edmonton’s response

What powers does the city have under a state of local emergency?

Edmonton city council declared a state of local emergency March 20 giving interim city manager Adam Laughlin extraordinary powers to protect the public.

This is the first time a state of emergency has been declared in Edmonton.

Laughlin has the power to control travel in and out of the city, evacuate people and animals, enter private property without a warrant, fix prices and distribute essential supplies. The declaration is in effect for seven days at which time city council can renew the powers. So far, council has renewed it three times.

The provincial government has since changed rules to allow local states of emergencies to last up to 90 days.

What is the city doing to stop the spread?

All city-owned playgrounds and sledding areas have been closed. Picnic sites in parks are being reduced and spray parks won’t be turned on when warmer temperatures hit.

Earlier, the city closed all recreation centres, libraries and attractions.

Edmonton’s transit service has reduced its trips to a modified Saturday schedule due to a significant decrease in ridership. It has also ramped up cleaning on all buses.

All buses currently being used have a shield to separate riders from the operator.

City council decided March 20 to suspend all transit fares to reduce contact for payment. All riders have to enter through the back door on buses and most LRT trains are opening doors automatically at every station.

Canada’s response

What is the Canadian government doing to respond to COVID-19?

The federal government is advising Canadians against all non-essential travel, and is restricting incoming international flights to just four airports in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal.

Only Canadians or permanent residents are allowed to enter Canada, with exceptions for family and people with work or study permits.

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, including Canadian citizens and permanent residents, are not allowed to come into Canada by plane.

Canadians and permanent residents with symptoms can return by land, rail or sea. Non-Canadians with symptoms cannot enter Canada by any means.

Everyone coming to Canada, with or without symptoms, must immediately self-isolate for 14 days or face a $1,000 fine for each offence.

What about the U.S. border?

For the first time since Canadian Confederation in 1867, Canada and the U.S. closed the joint border to most travellers.

Only “essential” or “urgent” travel, including to transport goods, is permitted for the foreseeable future.

Hundreds of thousands of people, as well as $2.7 billion in goods and services, cross the 8,891 kilometre-long border between the U.S. and Canada daily. The U.S. is by far Canada’s most important trading partner.

Thus, in order to ensure that food, medical supplies and all other essential goods continue to flow between both countries, the Trudeau government assured that supply chains would still be able to circulate between countries.

Border crossers who don’t have to self-isolate:

-Truckers, airplane and marine crews
-Those making necessary medical deliveries of cells, blood and blood products, tissues, organs, or other similar lifesaving human body parts, as required for patient care
-Those who cross the border regularly to go to work, including in the healthcare sector or critical infrastructure workers for the purpose of performing their duties
-Those who have to cross the border to provide or receive essential services, including emergency responders and personnel providing essential services to Canadians related to the COVID-19 outbreak

What is the federal government doing for businesses?

The federal government will pay companies 75 per cent of the first $58,700 normally earned by employees, up to $847 per week for up to 12 weeks. The subsidy is retroactive to March 15 and will be available to companies that lost 15 per cent of their revenue in March or 30 per cent in April or May.

The funds will be available in early May.

Businesses will also be able to defer tax payments until June, apply for interest-free loans through Canada Emergency Business Account and Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Loan and Guarantee program.

I have lost my job. Where do I apply for help?

Employment insurance

The federal government has expanded employment insurance benefits to cope with the COVID-19 crisis. EI sickness benefits provide up to 15 weeks of income replacement. They are available to eligible claimants who can’t work because of illness, injury or quarantine. Canada has also waived the typical one-week waiting period, and made it so people claiming EI benefits due to quarantine won’t have to provide a medical certificate.

However, if you became eligible for regular EI or sickness benefits after March 15, your claim will be processed through the new Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit is payments of $2,000 a month for up to four months, eligible for those forced to stop working because of COVID-19, whether or not they would be eligible for employment insurance payments.

The benefit is also available to workers who are sick, quarantined or caring for someone with COVID-19; working parents forced to stay home to care for children who are either sick or whose daycare has closed; workers who are still technically employed but not receiving hours; and self-employed people who would not otherwise qualify for EI.

Applications for the benefit opened April 6, and at least 5.4 million people are currently receiving benefits.

To be eligible for the emergency benefit, workers must have earned at least $5,000 in 2019, or in the 12 months before applying. The benefit is the same for everyone regardless of previous income, and is a less complicated application process than for employment insurance.

When first applying those eligible cannot “have earned more than $1,000 in employment and/or self-employment income for 14 or more consecutive days within the four-week benefit period of your claim.”

After that, those receiving benefits can earn up to $1,000 every four weeks.

-Compiled by Carson Jerema, Dylan Short, Ashley Joannou, Jeff Labine and Dustin Cook. With files from Lisa Johnson, Postmedia News and the Canadian Press.

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