BANFF – Several long-term and prominent residents are calling on the Town of Banff to declare a local state of emergency in the face of rising COVID-19 cases in the tourist town.
Leslie Taylor, Banff’s first mayor and former town councillor, said she wants a local state of emergency declared in the Town of Banff, noting the Alberta government is flailing in its handling of the escalating positive cases.
“A few examples might be additional enforcement of public health requirements, expanding testing capacity, setting up an isolation facility for those who need to isolate, but live in places where they cannot, and possibly once again setting up information check-stops at town entry points,” she said in a letter to council.
“I believe that a state of emergency expands your powers to take such actions, and others that I'm sure you're considering. It also sends a clear message to residents and to other Albertans that we are in trouble.”
As of Sunday afternoon (Nov. 22), Banff and Lake Louise had 122 active cases, up from 108 the day before. In neighbouring Canmore, there are 43 positive cases and five cases in the MD of Bighorn.
A total of 1,584 positive cases were identified in Alberta on Sunday, bringing the total number of active cases province-wide to 12,195. Of those 319 are in hospital and 60 in intensive care.
Banff town council meets Monday (Nov. 23) and will discuss what actions are being taken to try to stop the spread.
Taylor said contact tracing and testing, both responsibilities of the province, appear to have broken down, adding that Premier Jason Kenney has washed his hands of the former.
“I understand that symptomatic Banff people are now being booked for as much as a week from now for testing – but at least we are not in Canmore's situation,” she said, referring to the fact that there is no testing available in Canmore.
Taylor said the message from the province continues to be “do the right thing, Albertans” – but the numbers show that some Albertans are not.
“Unfortunately, we can see from our numbers that some Banffites also are not,” she said.
“I fear that these non-observant Banffites are in a demographic that is unlikely to read the local papers, listen to Mountain FM, or visit the Town's website,” she added.
“I fear that the excellent attempt at management through education and persuasion may have failed to reach them. And I fear that the virus they have contracted may reach the rest of us.”
Long-term residents and well-known locals Bernadette and Alan McDonald voiced concerns about COVID-19 numbers sky-rocketing in the community to among the top five in the province (per capita) – with no end in sight.
“We no longer feel safe,” they wrote in a letter to council, noting they have cancelled dentist appointments, physio appointments, haircuts, and anything that takes them out of self-isolation.
The McDonald’s say they understand that it’s unfair to punish businesses and individuals who are playing by the rules and doing their best to operate safely in the community – but believe it’s critical to make an attempt to curb some of the reckless behaviour.
They asked for town council to consider declaring a local state of emergency in the face of no leadership from the provincial government.
“Please consider this state of emergency as a first step towards a series of staged lockdowns or curfews, or some kind of authorized monitoring of people’s behaviour that results in consequences,” the couple wrote.
Resident Marianne Dubois said she is very worried the situation is continuing to worsen, adding that is it getting more and more difficult to get tested in Banff.
“In the meantime, there are some that are waiting for a test result to confine, by then it’s too late, as I am sure you know,” she wrote to council.
“I am hoping the town will be in a position to declare a state of emergency before it gets out of control.”
Local resident Hayley Beauregard, who has an immunocompromised three-year-old daughter who has battled for her young life many times, including being on a ventilator after open-heart surgery, sent town council a public opinion poll.
Of 826 responses to her survey, 79.5 per cent indicated they are highly concerned about the recent cluster of cases in Banff, while 82 per cent of 821 respondents said they believed the Town of Banff should be doing more to protect residents.
