SUNDRE — The municipality’s director of emergency management anticipated as inevitable the enhanced measures announced Friday.
“I highly suspect it’s coming — I really wish it wouldn’t, but I think it’s pretty much inevitable being that we’re floating at that magical number,” said Kevin Heerema, who is also the community peace officer, during an interview with The Albertan on Nov. 27 mere hours before the status became official.
The new rules and restrictions under the enhanced status announced earlier last week by the provincial government for municipalities and counties that reach a certain caseload are now in effect, Heerema said.
Those measures include protocols such as restricting the capacity in grocery stores to 25 per cent, pulling the plug on organized group sport activities, no social gatherings, and limitations on places of worship, he said.
On Friday, the number of active cases in the Mountain View County region, which Sundre falls under, hit 12, triggering the enhanced status. As of Monday morning, Heerema said that number had gone up to 15.
“Once we hit the enhanced status, we’re kind of stuck in that now, regardless of what our cases do,” he said.
“So, those enhanced rules apply to us now for the minimum three weeks, or unless the government lifts them ahead of time. That’s my understanding.”
When the province initially announced earlier last week the new rules that would be going into effect, Heerema said he posted information on the municipality’s social media and website to inform the public.
“When I first made the post, I was pretty sure we were going to hit that enhanced status at some point within the three weeks, if not right away,” he said.
As the municipality’s director of emergency management, Heerema said staying on top of the situation is among his priorities and that he’s checking for updates roughly every hour.
“Regardless of the status that we’re in, it’s important for folks to still remember those basic protocols when it comes to help prevent the spread,” he added.
Those include physical distancing, frequently washing hands and avoiding contact with the face with unwashed hands. He also encourages the use of masks, but added a mandatory mandate is for now unlikely.
“My recommendation won’t be for masks unless there’s a huge increase in numbers.”
Meanwhile, Heerema said he hopes everyone stays safe and continues to follow protocols that have helped keep numbers in Sundre so low.
Due to the uncertainty of the situation moving forward, he also encourages businesses and organizations that might have plans coming up farther down the road to “maybe just keep in mind that those plans might have to change suddenly, either be cancelled, or find some kind of alternative way to do things.”
He advised them to bear in mind different rules that have to be factored in, such as distancing, limiting numbers of people, increased sanitation and cleaning, as well as masking.
“Businesses should be doing what they can to protect their staff and their customers,” he said.
But there is no, one-size-fits-all cookie cutter approach, and Heerema said plans that organizations and businesses conjure up will depend largely on the type of business or service being provided, as well as the size and layout of their facility.
Sue Nelson, manager of community services, confirmed Monday morning that organized sporting activities are for now on hold at the Sundre Arena as well as the Sundre Community Centre. However, she added the Christmas farmers’ market scheduled for this weekend at the community centre is exempt and will be happening.
Over at the Sundre Curling Club, president Kris Burkholder said league play and further events are on hold until at least Dec. 15 or when the provincial government deems otherwise.
Meanwhile, the Sundre Minor Hockey Association is not expecting to resume practices until January, said Wade Church, president.
“We’re just on hold right now,” Church said Monday morning.
“We chose to cancel everything for the calendar year,” he said, adding the best case scenario would see the rink reopen just before the Christmas break.
But to err on the side of caution, he said the association decided to cancel everything until the end of the month.
“We’ll see where we’re at in the New Year,” he said.
The Sundre Rec Hockey Association found itself in a similar boat. In a post shared on Friday, president Shawn MacNeil said the enhanced status “means that our hockey will be shut down for the next three weeks at least.”
In a perhaps unexpected twist, the Sundre Aquaplex remains open.
“Our pool is now open,” said Chris Craig, president of the Sundre & District Aquatic Society, adding it opened on Saturday for the first time since the shutdown after getting the green light from a health inspector the day prior.
“We’ve restricted our numbers,” he said, adding the building’s capacity is quite high.
So, even if 10 to 12 people are allowed in to use the fitness centre, with 20 in the pool, “we’re still below 10 per cent occupancy for the facility.”
