Public health orders

To protect the health and safety of Albertans, public health orders can be legally-enforced and fines issued for violations.

Submit a violation complaint

Chief Medical Officer of Health orders in effect as of September 17, 2020

Gatherings

  • Order 35-2020 limits all private social gatherings in Edmonton and Calgary to a maximum of 15 people. (October 26, 2020)

Isolation requirements, and measures for airports, including passenger screening

Public access to businesses, schools and places of worship

  • Order 34-2020 – removes restrictions on public access to businesses, schools and places of worship. The following remaining businesses listed in the order must be closed to the public: amusement parks, indoor children’s play centres and nightclubs (September 23, 2020)
    • Note: Order 34-2020 amends CMOH Order 25-2020 by permitting indoor children’s play centres to open.

Visitor restrictions

  • Order 29-2020 – outlines conditions that must be met to allow visitors to a long-term care, licensed supportive living facility or any residential facility offering hospice services (July 16, 2020)
    • Note: Order 29-2020 rescinds Order 14-2020 effective July 23, 2020.

Health care facility requirements

  • Order 10-2020 – includes restrictions on movement of staff members for health care facilities in Alberta (April 10, 2020)
    • Note: Part 2 was replaced by Order 23-2020 (Appendix A and B, operational and outbreak standards) (effective May 25, 2020)
    • Note: Part 2 was replaced by Order 32-2020 (Appendix A and B, operational and outbreak standards) (effective September 17, 2020)

Physical distancing

  • Order 26-2020 – outlines the mandatory physical distancing requirement of at least two metres from every other person who is not a member of the same household or cohort (June 26, 2020)

Residential addiction treatment service facilities

  • Order 27-2020 – outlines updated operational and outbreak standards for residential addiction treatment service facilities (July 3, 2020)
    • Note: this order rescinds Appendix A and Appendix B of Order 13-2020.

Mandatory masking in schools

CMOH orders which have been rescinded

Note: Effective June 12, 2020, Chief Medical Officer of Health Order 25-2020 rescinded the following CMOH Orders: 01, 02, 07, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 24-2020.

Health care facility requirements

  • Order 30-2020 – prohibited Misericordia Community Hospital’s staff members and contracted providers from delivering in-person services at another health care facility for the duration of the outbreak of COVID-19 at the Misericordia (July 14, 2020)

Schools, daycares, preschools and day camps

  • Order 18-2020 – permitted attendance at daycares, out-of-school care and post-secondary institutions, provided persons adhere to public health measures and guidance. This Order applied throughout the province of Alberta, with some exceptions within the cities of Calgary and Brooks (May 14, 2020)
  • Order 19-2020 – permitted attendance at daycares, out-of-school care and post-secondary institutions, provided persons adhere to public health measures and guidance. This Order applied within the cities of Calgary and Brooks (May 14, 2020)
  • Order 01-2020 – prohibited attendance at early childhood service programs, daycares, out-of-school care, preschool programs, post-secondary institutions and other educational settings in Alberta (March 16, 2020)

Gatherings and services

  • Order 18-2020 – permitted attendance at certain locations and places, including retail businesses, restaurants and museums, provided persons adhere to public health measures and guidance. This Order applied throughout the province of Alberta, except within the cities of Calgary and Brooks (May 14, 2020)
  • Order 19-2020 – permitted attendance at certain locations and places, including retail businesses and museums effective May 14; and restaurants, hair salons and others effective May 25, provided persons adhere to public health measures and guidance. This Order applied within the cities of Calgary and Brooks (May 14, 2020)
  • Order 20-2020 – permitted attendance of up to 50 people in a group, in an outdoor location, provided persons adhere to public health measures and guidance (May 15, 2020)

Previous exemptions and modifications to orders 18-2020 and 19-2020

Public recreational facilities, private entertainment facilities, bars, nightclubs, gatherings, restaurants, retail services

Non-essential health services

  • Order 16-2020 – amended Order 07-2020 to allow the resumption of non-essential health services to Albertans (May 3, 2020)

Residential addiction treatment service facilities

  • Order 13-2020 – outlined updated operational and outbreak standards for residential addiction treatment service facilities (April 28, 2020)

Ministerial orders

Community and social services

  • Ministerial order no. 16/2020 (Income Support) and Ministerial order no. 17/2020 (AISH) (Community and Social Services) – allows Income Support and Assured Income for Severely Handicapped (AISH) recipients who have lost work and income because of COVID-19 to exempt a portion of the federal government's Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), if they receive it. This means a portion of the CERB payment will not affect their provincial benefits (April 23, 2020)

Employment standards and codes

  • Ministerial order no. 18/2020 (Labour and Immigration) – temporarily changes certain employment standards rules to help employers and employees adjust to rapidly-changing workplace conditions due to COVID-19, including a new job-protected leave for employees, scheduling flexibility, group termination notice requirements and a streamlined approval process for modifying employment standards rules (April 6, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 26/2020 (Labour and Immigration) – in respect of the Labour Relations Code and Employment Standards Code, this order applies to employers at a health care facility described in Chief Medical Officer of Health Order 10-2020, issued under section 29 of the Public Health Act, related to a) work for more than one employer; or b) work at more than one worksite (April 24, 2020)
    • Note: this ministerial order repeals and replaces ministerial order no. 22/2020
  • Ministerial order no. 21/2020 (Labour and Immigration) – modifies section 246 of the Occupational Health and Safety Code to add additional respiratory protective equipment as approved for required use at a work site (May 3, 2020)

Forestry sector

See fact sheet: Supporting Alberta's forest sector through COVID-19 (June 1, 2020).

  • Ministerial order no. 13/2020 (Agriculture and Forestry) – modifies sections of the Forests Act to suspend limitation periods, due to the state of public health emergency in Alberta, so the Ministry can focus its resources on responding to public emergencies, providing essential services to the public, and supporting the continued economic viability of the forest industry (June 4, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 14/2020 (Agriculture and Forestry) – modifies sections of the Forest and Prairie Protection Act to suspend limitation periods, due to the state of public health emergency in Alberta, so the Ministry can focus its resources on responding to public emergencies, providing essential services to the public, and supporting the continued economic viability of the forest industry (June 4, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 25/2020 (Agriculture and Forestry) – modifies sections of the Timber Management Regulation to suspend the application or operation of parts of the Regulation, due to the state of public health emergency in Alberta and the associated requirements and limitations, because timber disposition holders are unable to satisfy reforestation requirements during the 2020-21 timber year (June 15, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 26/2020 (Agriculture and Forestry) – modifies sections of the Timber Management Regulation to suspend the application or operation of parts of the Regulation, due to the state of public health emergency in Alberta and the associated requirements and limitations, because the deferral of certain charges supports the continued economic viability of operators in the forest industry (June 15, 2020)

Health

  • Ministerial order no. 612/2020 (Health) – modifies the Public Health Act, defining those subject to isolation/quarantine (March 25, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 614/2020 (Health) – permits the Department of Health and designated employees of the Chief Medical Examiner to use Alberta Netcare to access and use prescribed health information pertaining to COVID-related Fatalities, in order to disclose such information to the Chief Medical Examiner under the Fatal Inquiry Regulation  (March 30, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 615/2020 (Health) – this Order modifies sections 73(2) and 73(3) of the Public Health Act, such that section 73(2) is suspended, and section 73(3) increases fines for persons found in contravention of the section (April 2, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 616/2020 (Health) – establishes the Calgary Homeless Foundation and HomeSpace Society to provide services to operate Lakeview Signature Suites an an isolation centre to serve individuals experiencing homelessness or who are home insecure and who have tested positive for COVID-19 (April 4, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 625/2020 (Health) – modifies the Public Health Act to allow the Chief Medical Officer of Health to require a health care facility operator to provide information related to the purpose of restricting the movement of staff members among health care facilities (April 17, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 006/2020 (Health) – enables nurse practitioners to act as primary care providers in nursing homes, admitting and assessing residents, as well as offering follow-up care. Changes will also enable nurse practitioners and other qualified health professionals to prescribe medication and order treatments in nursing homes, according to their scopes of practice (April 24, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 629/2020 (Health) – this Order was created to support CMOH Order 10-2020. This Order allows the Chief Medical Officer to require an operator to disclose information about their staff members, so long as it is related to the purpose of 1) identifying potential impacts to home care staffing, and 2) developing options to address any potential gaps in workforce supply in this sector (April 28, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 630/2020 (Health) – this Order amends section 52.6(1) of the Public Health Act, such that there is legislated employment protections for individuals who are required to be absent under CMOH 10-2020, from the threat of termination, restriction, and discrimination by their employer or contractor (April 28, 2020)
    • Note: this Ministerial order repeals Ministerial order no. 624/2020 (Health)
  • Ministerial order no. 631/2020 (Health) – modifies the Communicable Diseases Regulation to allow additional health care practitioners to support medical officers of health and community health nurses under the Public Health Act, including COVID-19 related activities such as contact tracing (May 4, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 632/2020 (Health) – modifies the Public Health Act to authorize Alberta Health to share whether an individual named by a police service has received a COVID-19 test in the last 14 days, and if so, what the results of the test were. An individual’s results would only be shared where the individual deliberately tried to expose an officer to droplets by coughing or spitting at the officer and indicating they were COVID-19 positive (May 4, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 627/2020 (Health) – allows for provincial officers designated under the Public Health Act to undertake non-invasive health assessments and collect completed isolation questionnaires from passengers on arrival at the Edmonton and Calgary international airports from outside Canada. Also requires the airport authorities to provide the Chief Medical Officer of Health with information upon request regarding the specific measures an airport authority is taking to implement and report on the public health measures set out in CMOH Order 11-2020 (May 20, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 22/2020 (Health) – modifies the Nursing Homes Operation Regulation to delay the annual accommodation charge increase, which would otherwise take effect on July 1, 2020 (May 20, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 606/2020 (Health) – allows for provincial officers designated under the Public Health Act to undertake non-invasive health assessments and collect completed isolation questionnaires from passengers on arrival at the Coutts Provincial Checkpoint after passing through the Coutts Alberta/United States land border port of entry. It also provides for Alberta Health to share information collected via the isolation questionnaire with other government departments for education and enforcement purposes in compliance with the requirement to isolate or quarantine, as required by CMOH Order 05-2020 (June 1, 2020)

Legal matters and proceedings

  • Ministerial order no. 27/2020 (Justice and Solicitor General) – suspends limitation periods and periods of time within which any step must be taken in any proceeding or intended proceeding, from March 17 to June 1, 2020, due to conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic (March 30, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 29/2020 (Justice and Solicitor General) – allows for a guarantor to appear before a lawyer and execute a guarantee by means of two-way video-conferencing, related to the Guarantees Acknowledgement Act and the Guarantees Acknowledgement Forms Regulation during the COVID-19 pandemic (May 8, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 33/2020 (Justice and Solicitor General) - extends the terms of office of the chief judge and other judges appointed under Section 9.11 of the Provincial Court Act, to allow for continuity in leadership as the Provincial Court of Alberta develops and implements new procedures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (April 27, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 39/2020 (Justice and Solicitor General) – modifies sections of the Personal Directives Act, the Powers of Attorney Act and the Wills and Succession Act during the COVID-19 pandemic, to account for circumstances where it is not possible or medically safe for a maker, donor or testator to physically attend before a lawyer and sign a personal directive or power of attorney in the presence of a witness or a will in the presence of two witnesses (May 15, 2020)

Public land access restrictions

  • Ministerial order no. 18/2020 (Environment and Parks) – establishes the Provincial Park and Recreation Area Access Restriction Order (March 27, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 20/2020 (Environment and Parks) – establishes the Public Land Access Restriction Order (March 30, 2020)
    • Note: this Ministerial Order rescinds and replaces Ministerial Order no. 19/2020

Reporting deadlines, requirements and document registration

Environment and Parks

Energy

  • Ministerial order no. 219/2020 (Energy) – suspends specific legislated reporting requirements for energy companies under the Coal Conservation Act, the Oil and Gas Conservation Act and the Oil Sands Conservation Act (April 6, 2020)

Justice and Solicitor General

  • Ministerial order no. 25/2020 (Justice and Solicitor General) – extends expiry dates for licences under the Security Services and Investigations Act, during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 27, 2020)

Service Alberta

  • Ministerial order no. SA: 008/2020 (Service Alberta) – temporarily allows the Land Titles Office to register documents that have been witnessed, sworn or affirmed by Alberta lawyers using two-way videoconferencing (April 2, 2020)

Transportation

  • Ministerial order no. 23/20 (Transportation) – temporarily modifies and suspends parts of the Traffic Safety Act, Drivers' Hours of Service Regulation, Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation, Commercial Vehicle Certificate and Insurance Regulation, and Vehicle Inspection Regulation (April 2, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 24/20 (Transportation) – temporarily suspends parts of the Railway Regulation, Industrial Railway Regulation, and Heritage Railway Regulation (April 2, 2020)
  • Ministerial order no. 32/20 (Transportation) – amends ministerial order no. 23/2020 and temporarily modifies the deadline under the Traffic Safety Act to file applications to the Alberta Transportation Safety Board and to file applications for judicial review of Alberta Transportation Safety Board decision (June 15, 2020)

Public Health Disease Management Guidelines

Orders in council

  • O.C. 80/2020 (Health) – declaring a state of public health emergency (March 17, 2020)
  • O.C. 64/2020 (Labour and Immigration) – changes to leave from work requirements due to COVID-19 (March 17, 2020)
  • O.C. 99/2020 (Municipal Affairs) – municipal council meeting changes so as to avoid exposing persons to COVID‑19 (March 26, 2020)

Bills and legislation