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Banff waiting to hear province's COVID-19 measures before making decisions

"If the provincial restrictions do not go far enough for our community, the Town will rapidly implement other measures made possible under our municipal authority to reduce situations where virus transmission is of highest risk," said Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen
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The COVID-19 positive total reported by Alberta Health Services on Monday (Nov. 23).

BANFF – The Town of Banff may take tough measures, including declaring a state of local emergency, if the provincial government’s plan to deal with rapidly rising COVID-19 cases on Tuesday isn’t strong enough to protect the community.

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health met with the province’s priorities implementation committee of cabinet Monday (Nov. 23) to discuss a series of new measures to reduce the rising spread of the virus. 

The decisions from Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s recommendations, which she did not disclose during her briefing Monday, will be announced on Tuesday (Nov. 24).

“It’s clear that we have reached a precarious point in Alberta. The virus is spreading faster and more widely than at any other point during this pandemic,” Hinshaw said.

“This is like a snowball rolling down a hill, growing bigger and faster, and it will continue unless we implement strong measures to stop.”

Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen said it would be premature for council to make decisions to help prevent the spread for the municipality before Tuesday’s provincial announcement.

“If the provincial measures tomorrow address the situation in Banff, we will obviously actively support implementation and include the possibility of new municipal actions to support those measures,” she said.

“But if the provincial restrictions do not go far enough for our community, the Town will rapidly implement other measures made possible under our municipal authority to reduce situations where virus transmission is of highest risk,” she added.

“Some of those mechanism that were discussed include declaring a state of local emergency, perhaps creating new temporary town bylaws or additional resources focused on specific areas.”

The COVID-19 active case count for Banff and Lake Louise currently sits at 152, up 32 cases in 24 hours.

Province-wide, there were 1,549 new cases over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of active cases in Alberta to 13,166. The provincial death toll from COVID-19 is now 476.

In Banff, RCMP are actively enforcing the provincial health restrictions on gathering size and the Town of Banff has asked the province to give municipal enforcement officers authority to enforce provincial health orders. 

Bylaw officers were given those extraordinary powers at the start of the pandemic, but they were removed by the Alberta government when the provincial health emergency status came to an end.

Mayor Sorensen said she and Town Manager Kelly Gibson had a conversation with Banff-MLA Miranda Rosin on Sunday (Nov. 22) asking her to advocate to the government on Banff’s behalf.

“We spoke to her specifically about advocating for us about testing and an isolation centre and peace officers having powers to enforce provincial health measures,” she said.

Silvio Adamo, the Town of Banff’s director of emergency management, said he encourages all residents to do their part in preventing the spread of the virus by following all health orders.

“It’s hard to imagine two weeks ago I was giving a COVID update and I was saddened to say we had nine active cases in our community,” Adamo said. “What two weeks can do with this pandemic is quite remarkable.”

The Town of Banff also continues to work to find isolation rooms in the community for those in shared accommodation.

“At present our partner agency, the Y, that had rooms identified, is near or at capacity,” Adamo said.

“We are working with another commercial operator currently and Alberta Health Services to increase that inventory.”

Adamo said there is also significant demand for local COVID-19 testing, which can now only be done at Alpine Medical Clinic in Banff and at the Lake Louise Medical Clinic.

He said residents can also book testing online for the Cochrane testing facility.

“We are encouraging all residents that can safely travel to Cochrane to do so to help free up testing space for those who cannot,” he said.

Gibson said the Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC) is discussing all options to protect the community.

“The Town does not have a mechanism to completely lockdown the town,” he said.

“We do want to make sure we have the best approach.”

Hinshaw said the number of fatalities from this virus is growing, and the number of hospitalizations and intensive care admissions continues to rise.

She said this is challenging the health system’s ability to deliver care that Albertans’ need in the future.

“This is impacting the care not only for those suffering from COVID-19, but a wide range of other health needs,” she said.

“We must take action. Waiting any longer will impact our ability to care for Albertans in the weeks and months ahead.”

Banff council will update the community on COVID-19 measures at a special meeting of council on Wednesday (Nov. 25) at 11 a.m.

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