What we know about Alberta's new vaccine passport (that's not being called a passport) so far

Albertans will likely soon be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test in order to gain entry to many businesses and events.

The province has more than 18,000 active cases — the most of any province. On Wednesday, there were 877 people in hospital with the illness, including 218 in intensive care.

After months of rejecting the premise of a vaccine passport, Premier Jason Kenney announced the sweeping new measures to combat the COVID-19 surge on Wednesday, but under a different name: the restriction exemption program.

As of Sept. 20, non-essential businesses and services will have the option of requiring proof of vaccinations for patrons who wish to access their services — or opting out of the program and having to adhere to a strict set of capacity and operating restrictions.

But the restrictions for businesses that opt out will vary, and some Albertans have expressed confusion about what documentation they will need to provide and how to access it.

Here's what we know so far about the program.

From Sept. 20 until Oct. 25, vaccine-eligible Albertans will need proof of a single dose to access many non-essential services in the province — and that dose must have been administered at least two weeks before the time of service.