Alberta public servants will need to be fully vaccinated, premier says

All public servants in Alberta will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative test results, Premier Jason Kenney said Thursday.

The province's COVID-19 cabinet committee approved the policy earlier Thursday, Kenney told a news conference.

The move will affect about 25,000 provincial employees. All will need to have had two doses of vaccine by Nov. 30. Those who are not vaccinated will be required to provide negative COVID-19 test results regularly. "We value our public servants and the important work that they do," Kenney said.

"That's why we want to ensure that they're operating in safe workplaces and that we're doing everything we can to protect the millions of Albertans to whom they provide services."

Kenney was joined at the news conference by Health Minister Jason Copping and Alberta Health Services president Dr. Verna Yiu. Public service commissioner Tim Grant also took part.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, was away on a personal matter, Copping said.

The premier joined the last COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday, announcing new provincial regulations that would ban protests from blocking access to hospitals. No new restrictions were brought forward.