Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Wednesday, Dec. 15

The latest on restrictions, rapid testing and more:

• Premier Jason Kenney announced on Wednesday that the province is loosening its private social gathering restrictions, scrapping the rule that only people from two households can get together indoors. 
  • As of Wednesday, social gatherings can consist of people from any household, but groups must not exceed 10 people. Albertans under the age of 18 do not count in that tally.
  • The requirement that all people at indoor social gatherings be fully vaccinated is also being dropped. 
• Kenney also said Albertans would be able to access free take-home COVID-19 rapid antigen testing kits from participating pharmacies in Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary starting on Friday (Dec. 17).
  • If you're not in those cities, you can access testing kits through Alberta Health Services sites.
  • The province has more than half a million kits available to hand out. Each kit contains five tests.
  • Rapid test kits will also be made available at more schools and for vulnerable populations.
  • The kits are intended for people without symptoms of COVID-19. Those who do have symptoms should stay home, isolate and book a PCR test through Alberta Health Services.

• See how Alberta compares on vaccination rates and active cases with the rest of Canada, how many Albertans are in hospital and more in the other charts and graphs at the bottom of this story.

• CBC Calgary reported on Dec. 10 that the Calgary Catholic School District says it has used more than 10,000 rapid COVID-19 test kits provided by the province so far this school year, with half of those being used by staff not fully vaccinated who are participating in the district's mandatory rapid testing program.
• The Calgary Board of Education said it is not providing rapid tests for staff.
• The Alberta government imposed the restrictions exemption program, a voluntary vaccine passport system, as of Sept. 20 to combat a disastrous fourth wave of COVID-19. A full list of restrictions and exemptions is available on the government's website. 

The latest on vaccines:

• The province said Wednesday that  85 per cent of eligible Albertans ages 12 and older have received both of their recommended doses of vaccine through Alberta Health Services, community pharmacies and physician offices.
• Kenney also announced Wednesday that all Albertans 50 and older — as well as all health-care workers — were immediately eligible to get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, provided that at least six months had passed since their second dose.
  • Eligible people can book appointments for third doses online with participating pharmacies or AHS by using the Alberta vaccine booking system.
  • Albertans can also call 811, participating pharmacies or participating physicians' offices.
• Alberta Health Services implemented its immunization of workers for COVID-19 policy on Dec. 13. In an email to CBC News, AHS stated around 1,650 full- and part-time AHS staff who are not fully immunized have been placed on unpaid leave.
  • A total of 175 staff at healthcare facilities where there has been a low vaccine uptake have been offered a rapid test option.
• AHS tweeted lsat Friday that it had received reports of a scam in which texts that appear to be from AHS promise Albertans money for getting a COVID-19 vaccine and ask for credit card information.
• Also last week, AHS tweeted that it was aware of misinformation being spread that children are being hospitalized at the Alberta Children's Hospital with adverse reactions following COVID-19 vaccinations. AHS said it was untrue; there haven't been any pediatric hospitalizations related to COVID-19 vaccination.
• As of Wednesday: 
  • 71.8 per cent of the province's total population — or 76.4 per cent of eligible Albertans (ages five years and older) — have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Out of the province's total population, 77.7 per cent have received at least one dose, or 84.3 per cent (ages five and over), according to CBC's vaccine tracker. 
  • That compares with 81.5 per cent of the total population Canada-wide who have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 76.2 per cent of the total population who are fully vaccinated. Among those eligible, 85.7 per cent have had one dose, and 80.1 per cent are fully vaccinated.
• The percentage of eligible people in Alberta who are vaccinated dropped on Nov. 26, when children between the ages of five to 11 were added to the population of those eligible.

The latest COVID-19 numbers: 

• The Alberta government reported Wednesday:
  • There were 456 new COVID cases.
  • The total number of active cases in Alberta is 4,082.
  • Alberta Health says there are 362 people with COVID in hospital, including 71 in intensive care. 
  • The province recorded three new deaths.
• The Alberta government reported Wednesday that 10 new cases of the Omicron variant have been detected. The province has identified 60 cases in total.
• Most of the new variant cases, 34, are in the Calgary zone.
• The emergence of Omicron, named a variant of concern by the World Health Organization, has prompted the return of border closures, travel restrictions and stricter testing requirements across the world.
• A total of 3,286 Albertans have died of COVID.
• 332,629 Albertans have recovered.
• Outbreaks have been declared in two units at the Peter Lougheed Hospital in northeast Calgary. One death is associated with the outbreak. 
• In Edmonton, two units at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital have declared outbreaks. One death is associated with the outbreak. 
• There are seven other outbreaks at acute care sites throughout the province.
• There are active alerts or outbreaks in 136 schools.
• There were 228 intensive care unit beds open in Alberta, including 55 surge beds.
• Provincewide, the R-value for Nov. 29 to Dec.12 was 0.96, with a confidence interval between 0.92 and 1.01. An R-value below 1.0 means transmission is no longer growing.
• The R-value for the Edmonton zone is 0.99, and in Calgary it's 0.96. In the rest of Alberta, the rate is 0.93.

See which regions are being hit hardest:

Here is the latest detailed regional breakdown of active cases, as reported by the province on Wednesday:

• Calgary zone: 1,766.
• Edmonton zone: 1,221.
• Central zone: 504.
• North zone: 373.
• South zone: 213.
• Unknown: 5.

Here are the latest Alberta COVID-19 stories:

The latest updates on COVID-19 in Alberta in charts and graphs: