The provincial government has granted 700 peace officers expanded powers to enforce health orders.
Justice Minister Kaycee Madu said Friday that 40 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in Alberta can be linked back to social gatherings. These peace officers will help curb that source of spread.
"It's clear that if we want to slow the spread of this virus, protect vulnerable populations and our healthcare systems, these gatherings are the place to start,” Madu said.
Those who choose to break the rules will be subject to fines as low as $1,000 or as high as $100,000.
“People need to be responsible for their own actions,” Madu said.
On Friday, the province announced an additional 1,227 COVID-19 cases.
Sixteen thousand two hundred tests were conducted in the last day, with 7.6 per cent of them coming back positive.
There are now 14,217 active cases in the province with 403 people in the hospital and 86 in intensive care.
In the past 24 hours, nine more deaths have been reported.
