Editor:
I was both deeply troubled and completely dismayed having read the recent article "Town of Canmore addresses questions surrounding COVID-19."
As much as I appreciate gallant efforts regarding the Town's website, some closures, etc. the leadership hasn't gone nearly far enough.
The explanations of lack of concrete steps to limit visitors descending upon our town smacked of taking an easy way out. Are our leaders really content to sit inactive until Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw tells them to do something?
Have our leaders not heard her repeat ad nauseam, that social distancing is key to flattening the curve? Have they not heard her say that "the biggest concern is the threat of community transmission of the virus?"
What else does she have to say to motivate our leaders to spring into bona fide action and protect our town?
Perhaps another source of "truth" as Chief Administrative Officer Lisa de Soto calls it, will help here: Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, has stated that 50 per cent of all infections have now been due to community transmissions.
Her deputy, Dr. Howard Njoo, has stated that 90 per cent of all new cases since last week were from community transmissions. What other "truth" are our leaders waiting for?
As to their inability to enact a local state of emergency, as de Soto said herself: "typically, a state of local emergency is declared when the resources of the municipality are insufficient to address the emergency at hand."
Well, it seems we now have a valid reason to enact one as soon as possible. It was clearly stated we do not have the resources to police thousands of visitors. Using her very argument: this should be a closed case.
One last thing about spending time outdoors being important to mental health: I do not think that having crowds of people everywhere, is what Dr. Hinshaw had in mind at all, as this would contradict her priority number one: social distancing (which last weekend's experience made an absolute mockery of and therefore should be viewed as an emergence).
And here is my own question I would like to ask, relative to another quote handily borrowed from Dr. Hinshaw: would one prefer to be a bit stressed due to social distancing rules and global state of affairs in general, or would one prefer to be stressed over having acquired COVID-19?
Please, enough is enough.
Time to lead and stand up on behalf of our town.
Bill Piekos,
Canmore
