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Letter: Do your part to make them stay at home

Editor: Epidemiological evidence has shown that we have a global pandemic on such a large scale due to asymptomatic transmission from people travelling between countries and communities.

Editor: 

Epidemiological evidence has shown that we have a global pandemic on such a large scale due to asymptomatic transmission from people travelling between countries and communities.
 
So why does the mayor in his recent weekly communique on COVID-19 say those wanting to restrict access to Canmore are acting out of fear and emotion when there are many jurisdictions restricting movement?
 
Since day trippers and vacation home owners continue to come and go at will and moral suasion has only partially worked, isn't controlling access to Canmore the logical next step based on epidemiological science and experience? It is not necessarily related to emotion and fear.
 
This can be easily achieved by blocking all entrances to Canmore other than one from the east and one from the west and having two check points like what Banff has done periodically.
 
Access to the gas strip and takeout food places for travellers can be left open by the road exits into and out of Travel Alberta. The mayor earlier said in a communique that the town has the power under and emergency order to do this and for some reason is now saying there is no public health order to do this.
 
It is my understanding under a state of emergency his former statement is true as shown by Banff's ability to do this.
 
In my neighbourhood alone we have a VRBO owned as a vacation home where different people come and go several times a week, and – yes party in the outside hot tub. We have a vacation home next door whose owners live in the U.S. whose son came from Texas the end of March to visit his American brother staying in the family vacation home. He then returned to the U.S. for school completion three weeks later. It is probable that he will return again slipping through the international travel ban by having dual citizenship. And no, there was no two-week self-isolation.
 
Perhaps Canmore needs to follow Banff's lead and put the health and safety of residents before the very small economic gain that may be occurring.
 
Unfortunately these are difficult and serious times and hard choices made now will reduce the community spread of COVID-19 and let us return to a new-normal sooner.
 
Robert Milko,
 
Canmore
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