Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks at an event in Ottawa on December 9, 2019.BLAIR GABLE/Reuters
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has tested negative for COVID-19 after one of his cabinet ministers tested positive for the disease.
Mr. Kenney and several members of his caucus went into isolation on Wednesday after Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard received a positive test. The Premier attended an event with Ms. Allard last week to announce a highway interchange in Airdrie, north of Calgary.
Matt Wolf, director of issues management in the Premier’s office, confirms that Mr. Kenney tested negative but will carry out his isolation as required. In Alberta, people who are a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID-19 are required to isolate for 14 days.
The Premier’s deputy press secretary, Harrison Fleming, said in an e-mail earlier on Wednesday that Ms. Allard was not symptomatic last week, when she appeared at the Airdrie. Transportation Minister Ric McIver and three United Conservative Party MLAs — Angela Pitt, Peter Guthrie and Nathan Neudorf — are also isolating.
Ms. Allard was already isolating after learning over the weekend that a close contact of hers tested positive, said Mr. Fleming.
While awaiting her own test, she appeared virtually at a news conference about property taxes for oil and gas companies on Monday of this week. At the time, she said she was “adhering to the recommendations and guidelines from the Chief Medical Officer of Health.”
Ms. Allard is at home with mild symptoms, said Mr. Fleming. The other MLAs in isolation are Angela Pitt, Peter Guthrie and Nathan Neudorf.
Some members of Airdrie city council also attended the highway event with Ms. Allard. The city issued a statement on Wednesday that said people who had close contact with the Municipal Affairs Minister, including some council members, were following instructions from the provincial health authority that may include isolation.
Several Canadian politicians have been infected with COVID-19, including federal Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet.
Alberta is among several provinces across Canada seeing a surge in COVID-19 infections. The province added 406 new cases on Tuesday, setting a record for new daily infections.
Across the province, there are 3,372 active cases. Of those, 113 people are in hospital, with 16 patients in intensive care. Three more people have died, bringing the pandemic’s death toll to 296.
The province’s Chief Medical Officer, Deena Hinshaw, announced new measures for Edmonton this month because of a worrying increase in infections in the provincial capital.
Those measures, which are voluntary, include limiting gatherings to 15 people and asking people to limit the cohorts of other people they come into contact with.
With reports from Kelly Cryderman and Carrie Tait
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