COVID-19 Public Health Actions 

Restriction Exemption Program

Businesses that choose to implement the Restrictions Exemption Program must continue to follow indoor mandatory masking requirements, but can operate without capacity or operating restrictions if they require people aged 12 and over to show one of the following:

• proof of vaccination
  • partial vaccination (one dose) accepted September 20 to October 25 if received 2 weeks before time of service
  • full vaccination (two doses) required after October 25
• proof of a privately-paid negative PCR or rapid test within 72 hours of service (tests from AHS or Alberta Precision Laboratories not allowed)
• documentation of a medical exemption

Businesses do not need to apply for the program. Audits and enforcement will occur to ensure rules are followed.

The Restriction Exemption Program would not apply to:

• businesses or entities that need to be accessed for daily living
• employees of businesses participating in the program
• children under 12

It is up to you, as the business owner to implement this program or not. If you choose not to, the restrictions are as follows:

Adult (over 18) sport, fitness, recreation and performance activities (Sept 20)

• The following restrictions apply unless the facility or program implements the restrictions exemption program:
  • Indoor group classes and activities are not permitted.
  • Indoor competitions are paused except where vaccine exemptions have been granted.
  • Indoor one-on-one training and solo activities are allowed with 3 metre physical distancing.
  • Outdoor activities can continue with no restrictions.

Youth (under 18) sport, fitness, recreation and performance activities (Sept 16)

• Indoor group classes, training, and competitions are permitted, but participants are required to:
  • screen for symptoms
  • maintain 2 metres distancing, except youth while engaged in physical activity
  • wear a mask, except youth while engaged in physical activity
• Spectator attendance is restricted to 1/3 fire code capacity, attendees are limited to a single household or 2 close contact if living alone and must be masked and maintain 2 metres physical distancing.
• Outdoor activities can continue with no restrictions.

Alberta Temporary Measures

Alberta is taking temporary measured steps to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. These temporary measures come into effect September 4 at 8 am. For private music instructors, the most relevant information worth noting is as follows:
 

Masking

Mandatory restriction – effective Sept. 4 at 8 am

• Masks are mandatory in all indoor public spaces and workplaces.
• Employees must mask in all indoor work settings, except in work stations.

Additional guidance for business and event organizers

• General guidance for COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses – optional mitigations to protect the health of your staff and customers.
• Guidance for activities with children – best practices to protect children ages 11 and under.

FULL DETAILS AT ALBERTA.CA

Alberta Temporary Measures –
September 2021

Alberta is taking temporary measured steps to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. These temporary measures come into effect September 4 at 8 am. For private music instructors, the most relevant information worth noting is as follows:
 

Masking

Mandatory restriction – effective Sept. 4 at 8 am

• Masks are mandatory in all indoor public spaces and workplaces.
• Employees must mask in all indoor work settings, except in work stations.

Additional guidance for business and event organizers

• General guidance for COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses – optional mitigations to protect the health of your staff and customers.
• Guidance for activities with children – best practices to protect children ages 11 and under.

FULL DETAILS AT ALBERTA.CA

Stage 3 Reopening started July 1, 2021

All public health measures have now been lifted except for isolation/quarantine requirements and masking requirements in health care settings and public transit.

Municipalities and businesses are free to set masking requirements as they see fit. For example, businesses may require staff and/or customers to wear masks inside their place of business.

While masking is no longer required in most situations, it is important to support those who may wish to continue wearing masks while adjusting to Stage 3.

See www.alberta.ca/covid-19-public-health-actions for more details.

June 10, 2021 – Open for Summer Stage 2

Welcome to Alberta’s Open for Summer Plan Stage 2 as of June 10, 2021. You can start teaching music in person again!
The complete guidelines are published at www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures. For private music teachers, the most relevant information is as follows:

 

For indoor performances such as recitals, capacity is based on 1/3 of fire code occupancy of the venue:

Distancing and masking requirements remain in effect. Based on the previous Guidance for Performing Arts, this would mean:

• Indoors, 3 metres of distance between students/performers as well as between the coach/trainer/instructor and client/household.
  • A coach, instructor, conductor or teacher may breach the physical distancing requirement for brief periods if necessary to provide guidance or instruction (for example, to correct form or technique).
• Indoors, audiences must stay 2 metres apart from people who are not part of their household. 
• Outdoors, 2 metres of distance between performers or audience members.

When the Guidance for Performing Arts is updated for Stage 2, we will be passing on the complete details. 

Looking forward, the Stage 3 reopening which lifts all remaining restrictions is expected to be effective in late June or early July. You can make plans for teaching in September as you please!

www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures

May 27, 2021 – Open for Summer Stage 1

The highly anticipated announcement by the Government of Alberta on May 26, 2021 included many restrictions being eased as of June 1, 2021:

Source: www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures 

As a private music teacher, you would likely notice that what was absent from the announcement was any mention of indoor performance activities, which would include lessons and rehearsals. When ARMTA asked the Government of Alberta BizConnect to clarify, we received this reply:

You can teach outdoors or online, but in-person indoor lessons will need to wait until the Open for Summer Plan Stage 2. These restrictions are province-wide and no longer dependent on whether you live in a high-case region or not.

May 20, 2021 – Several Weeks

On May 19, 2021, the Chief medical officer of health COVID-19 update announced that while schools will be resuming in-person classes in most places in the province, 

May 19, 2021 COVID-19 Update

May 5, 2021 – Additional Alberta Public Health Measures

www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures

What is new & updated from the April 30th restrictions:

• an updated, expanded, and easier to understand list of communities that are considered to be high case regions: www.alberta.ca/assets/documents/covid19-restrictions-high-case-regions.pdf 
• additional restrictions start May 5 and will be in place for at least 3 weeks
• in high case regions, outdoor performance activities including one-on-one lessons are no longer permitted as of 11:59 pm on May 9

What has not changed from the April 30th restrictions:

• in high case regions, all indoor sport, performance and recreation activities for youth and adults are prohibited. This includes on-one-one lessons.
• outside of high case regions, one-on-one lessons are permitted for both adults and youth. Youth may also participate in indoor group performance activities to a maximum of 10 participants as long as 3 metres of distancing can be maintained.

The Government of Alberta also posted updated Guidance Documents for Performing Arts in April 2021. While they do not take into account the restrictions put into place on April 30 or May 5, they lay out the standards expected for safely operating to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 that need to be followed province-wide and in high case regions after the return to in-person teaching.

Download Guidance for Performing Arts

The notable change in the Performing Arts guidance is that 3 metres of distancing must be maintained for one-on-one lessons, not the previous 2 metres:


The exception is: 

In spite of the fact that the Government of Alberta assured ARMTA when we entered Stage 2 in March 2021 that there were no changes to one-on-one lessons and that only performance arts groups needed to maintain 3 metres of distancing, that has now changed. When ARMTA questioned it, they summed it up very simply:

April 30, 2021 – Performance Activities Prohibited in Alberta Hot Spot Regions

Effective April 30, targeted restrictions for hot spot regions include a complete restriction on all youth and adult indoor performance activities.

www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures

This applies if you live in regions including:

• Fort McMurray
• Red Deer
• Grande Prairie
• Airdrie
• Calgary
• Lethbridge
• Strathcona County
• Edmonton
• St. Albert

FIND YOUR REGION

The Public Health Order 17-2021 makes it clear that this is a complete closing of all businesses offering performance activities, including the following parts particularly relevant to private music teachers:



The only exceptions listed in Part 9 of the Public Health Order 17-2021 are for K-6 school activities or for post-secondary institutions. 

THERE IS NO EXCEPTION FOR ONE-ON-ONE LESSONS, SO THEY MUST ALSO BE CLOSED. You may, however, do outdoor lessons or other performance activities to a maximum of 10 distanced people. Online lessons are allowed as always. 

These restrictions will remain in place for 2 weeks, or until the region falls back below the case threshold – whichever is longer.

If you do NOT live in one of the hot spot regions, you may continue to teach one-on-one lessons for adults. Youth may participate in indoor group performance activities to a maximum of 10 participants.

April 13, 2021 – Return to Step 1

Effective April 9, 2021, the Alberta government announced a return to Step 1 restrictions. The changes highlighted and posted under Performance Activities for Business Restrictions at www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures are the following:

ARMTA reached out to Alberta Biz Connect for clarifications and received these replies:

The most detailed and comprehensive guidelines can be found in the Alberta Public Health Orders. The most recent dated April 9, 2021 is Order 10-2021 with Part 9 dedicated to Performance Activity.

While adult performance activities are generally not permitted, the exceptions allowed by the current public health orders include:

• performance activity as part of a school education program or a post-secondary institution’s program of study (9.1)
• one-on-one (or multiple members of the same household) lessons or rehearsals with a coach, instructor, or teacher (9.12)

• indoor performance activities that are during a worship service conducted by a faith leader at a place of worship (4.3)

Other guidelines laid out in the public health order are hopefully familiar by now:

• performance groups of must maintain 3 metres of distance between participants (9.4) or 2 metres for groups of youths outdoors (9.13)
• no indoor performances (9.6) except that youth under the age of 18 may have up to groups of 10 (9.13) with up to 2 supervising adults (9.7)
• outdoor performances are limited to 10 people (9.8) unless it is a drive-in performance with vehicles 2 metres away from other vehicles (9.9)
• face masks are required unless the person is playing a wind instrument and the instrument is affixed with an instrument mask (9.14) or they are included in the exceptions listed under 5.7
• a person may enter the private residence of another person for the purposes of performance activity instruction (2.2 m))
• businesses offering performance activities must be by appointment only (Appendix A – 9) 

Download the Order 10-2021 pdf for full details.