State of local emergency declared for Chestermere
The City of Chestermere declared a state of local emergency in response to COVID-19, on March 17.
Under the new state of local emergency, the City of Chestermere can pursue additional measures to help in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the area.
“We take this situation extremely seriously, and this declaration means that in partnership with you, our citizens and local businesses, we can protect our community,” said Mayor Marshall Chalmers.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) has confirmed COVID-19 cases not related to travel. Meaning, that community transmission of COVID-19 is now occurring.
Chalmers expressed that this is very concerning as people do not necessarily know where they picked COVID-19 up.
“This state of local emergency gives our Emergency Management Agency the powers needed to make the decisions required to protect Chestermere,” Chalmers said.
Under the state of local emergency, the City of Chestermere has announced three changes for businesses and residents.
The first being, businesses must restrict the number of people on the premises to 50 per cent or less of their maximum occupancy load, including staff. This requirement will ensure people can safely practice social distancing.
The second change under the state of local emergency is that businesses must have hand sanitizer stations at their location and require people to sanitize their hands before they enter the building.
These are now mandatory measures for businesses in Chestermere. If businesses do not comply, they may face fines or closures.
Lastly, residents are strongly advised to limit social gatherings in homes, as hosting or attending larger than normal sized gatherings can put people at risk of COVID-19.
The city is recommending residents cancel birthday parties, celebrations, anniversaries, and other gatherings until further notice.
“These three changes are necessary to help protect our community, and we trust that every resident and business will take them seriously, and do their part to protect themselves, their loved ones, and the community,” said the Chestermere Emergency Management Agency (CHEMA) Director, and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Bernie Morton.
In addition to following the three changes, the CHEMA is urging all Albertans to following the AHS prevention guidelines, including washing your hands often and properly, avoid touching your face, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands, avoid close contact with people who are sick, clean and disinfect surfaces, cover coughs and sneezes then wash your hands, and stay at home when sick.
For more information on Chestermere’s response to COVID-19, please visit the City of Chestermere website at www.chestermere.ca/covid19.
For additional information regarding Alberta’s response, visit the Government of Alberta website at https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans.aspx.