BANFF – Banff’s mayor is calling on the provincial government to apply any additional restrictions to help slow the spread of COVID-19 to all regions on enhanced status.
Premier Jason Kenney is scheduled to attend this afternoon’s (Dec. 8) briefing on COVID-19 alongside Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw, fuelling speculation that more restrictions will be announced.
In a letter to Health Minister Tyler Shandro on Monday (Dec. 7), Mayor Karen Sorensen said “consistency across the province, rather than a patchwork approach would be greatly appreciated.”
“Our community is currently struggling with our current case counts of COVID 19, and just like other urban areas, are facing a myriad of challenges related to the spread of this virus,” she said.
Sorensen said Premier Jason Kenney’s suggestion last week that should further restrictive measures be announced provincially, that they would be limited to Calgary and Edmonton “is of great concern to me.”
As of Sunday, she said the Banff and Lake Louise region had an active case count of 888 per 100,000 population, representing the seventh highest active case count per capita in the province.
“This has reduced from the highest case count per capita last week; however, we continue to struggle with new cases and the impacts to our local business community have been significant due to staffing shortages related to isolation,” she said.
“We would like to request, should further restrictive measures be announced, that they be consistently applied to all areas experiencing enhanced status. To implement measures in only Calgary or Edmonton, when our community is dealing with many of the same issues, is not helpful.”
Mayor Sorensen said that should closures be mandated by the province, local businesses could make use of the various financial supports in place, but these are currently tied to government closures.
“We ask that any restrictions imposed be applied equally based on status level or per capita case counts, not on population size alone,” she said.
Although Banff and Lake Louise escaped the brunt of COVID-19 throughout the spring and summer, 96 per cent of the 309 positive cases recorded since the start of the pandemic have occurred since the end of October.
“Active case count totals are obviously higher in both urban areas in the province,” Sorensen said. “The per capita case counts are also something to pay close attention to.”
While Banff’s active cases had dropped to 126 on Dec. 7 from a high of 192 on Nov. 29, officials stress it is important to remember “there is still COVID spreading in our community.”
“While these are certainly encouraging developments, I cannot stress enough that we must not let our guard down,” said Alison Gerrits, the Town of Banff’s acting director of emergency management.
“In the last week, while we have seen 120 recoveries recorded we have also added 53 new COVID cases.”
In terms of testing, Gerrits said there have been 740 COVID-19 tests conducted in Banff and the ID9 region over the past seven days.
Alberta Health Services offered asymptomatic testing for employees at businesses – where more than five cases had been identified over the previous two weeks – at the Fenlands recreation centre last Wednesday (Dec. 2).
“We have been assured by the office of the medical officer of health that should any large outbreaks be identified in our area that the mobile testing team would be made available again on site at any affected locations,” Gerrits said.
With the provincial testing site opening at the Banff community health centre at 303 Lynx St. last Friday (Dec. 4), an additional 65 COVID-19 tests were completed that day.
The site is open Mondays through Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Testing is available for COVID-19 symptomatic individuals, or close contacts of positive cases only. Appointments must be booked in advance online or by calling 811.
“With this testing now in place, in addition to the testing still occurring through our local doctors’ offices in both Banff and Lake Louise, we are feeling quite confident with our testing capacity at the current time,” Gerrits said.
Since the new 23-room isolation facility opened at the Banff Centre on Nov. 30, 11 people who were unable to isolate in the current home have stayed there.
“Three have now completed their isolation; the facility is currently housing eight individuals,” Gerrits said.
“Food support is available for those in isolation if needed, and daily wellness checks are provided for everyone.”
Councillor Corrie DiManno questioned what the trigger might be for lifting the local state of emergency, expressing concern about the chance for further spread of the virus over the Christmas season.
“Knowing that the holidays are ahead as well, the temptation to have social gatherings will be there,” she said.
Gerrits said there is no talk of coming off the state of local emergency at this point, noting 53 cases in one week is significant.
She also pointed to the active case count in Alberta of 430 per 100,000 population, with 20,067 active cases province-wide as of Dec. 7.
“We’re still at an active case rate per capita double that of the province,” Gerrits said.
