Kenney Says Alberta Could Remove Restrictions Within 'Weeks' If People Get Vaccinated

On Monday, May 17, Jason Kenney delivered an Alberta COVID-19 update to the public. During the announcement, he said that the province will be "tying reopening, in large part, to the percentage of the population that gets vaccinated."

He said hospitalization numbers will also be a factor in the reopening plan, at least in the early stages. Kenney urged that "vaccine cautious" Albertans need to know that "their ticket to freedom and their way back to normal lies through getting vaccinated."

The premier continued to say that vaccinated Albertans won't be getting any special privileges, such as being exempt from some public health rules as we're seeing in the U.S. He called it a "team effort," saying "we're all in it together."

"Everybody who can, please get vaccinated, and if we do that we think within a matter of weeks we'll be able substantially to remove public health restrictions."

Meanwhile, Canada has released a "life after vaccination" roadmap, which outlines how federal health officials think the summer and fall will look as more Canadians get their doses.