COVID-19 Update - April 24

 

Dear citizens,

On behalf of the Town of Cardston we want to offer our sincere condolences to all Nova Scotians who suffered a horrific tragedy in the area of Portapique. We have Nova Scotians in our Town. To you all, our hearts are saddened by this disaster and we join our prayers to yours in this period of morning and sorrow.

We also want to offer our sincere condolences to the village of Glenwood who lost one of their Councillor Myron Lybbert after a courageous battle with cancer. Our prayers are with his family, his follow Councillors and all who knew at this difficult time.

Today, I will give you some COVID 19 updates and related topic information.

As of today, The Town, the Blood Tribe and the County do not have any reported active cases of COVID-19. This is encouraging and good. To keep it this way, please do not relax your guards and use all precautionary measures recommended by AHS. Parents please monitor your children’s activities and ensure that they understand the risks of catching this highly contagious disease for your family, friends and community. It is a serious matter.  Social and physical distancing along with hand washing and hand sanitizing can keep us safe and help us ride the wave.  Let us not forget that we have almost 1/3 of our population over the age of 60 in our Town. We must not compromise their health through careless behaviours. We do not have sufficient policing resources to enforce the rules. Each of us has an important part in beating Covid19. Thank you for all you do!

In Town, administration has developed sub-committees of our Emergency Response Committee to keep all essential stakeholders informed and to share respective information. These committees include a health committee, a volunteer committee, a business committee and a government committee. All these committees report back to the Emergency response committee on a regular basis.

Related to COVID-19, the Town has received a number of inquiries regarding activity at the Flamingo Motel on Main Street.

Associated with these inquiries are a certain number of assumptions and hear says that are non-factual and simply incorrect.  To shed the proper light on the matter, here is the official Blood Tribe release regarding the use of the Flamingo hotel for the benefit of Blood Tribe, Town, and County.

Quote:

“In response to COVID-19, the Blood Tribe Department of Health has been working to support individuals who may require isolation..

The department has temporarily acquired the Flamingo Hotel in Cardston to allow for proper isolation of community members.

In order to qualify for a referral to the hotel, an individual must:

• Be showing active symptoms of COVID-19,

• Not be able to isolate at home appropriately, and

• Be a local community member. All local community members, not just members of the Blood Tribe, are eligible.” End of Quote

All local community members, not just members of the Blood Tribe, are eligible. Particularly, those individuals who start showing symptoms, and do not have living accommodations which allow that individual to safely isolate at home without compromising the health of others living in the same space. Anyone in the Cardston area, who develops symptoms, and is unable to appropriately self-isolate, may be referred by a health official to the motel. There they may safely isolate alone for the prescribed period of time, without jeopardizing the health of others.

If you think you have symptoms, take the COVID-19 self-assessment on the Alberta Health Services website, or call 811.

As your Mayor I wish to support the words of Dr. Katherine Chubbs, Chief Zone Officer for AHS South Zone:  Quote: "We all need to work with our partners to get through the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts of the Blood Tribe Department of Health is a testament to how we can and should work together."

 I am grateful and fully support the proactive Blood Tribe’s initiative to provide a fully supervised and 24/7 monitored isolation/quarantine facility that can benefit us all locally if or when the need arises.

Regarding events and outdoor activities:

Although the official word is not yet given to municipalities, it appears that we are leaning towards cancellation of large events in this province. We will follow suit to protect our health and safety from the spread of the Corona Virus.

At this point, the Golf Course will be closed to the public as per Provincial mandate, but the golf course will be properly maintained and manicured in hope of a reopening in the month to come.

We are presently in discussion with our Campground contractors regarding the possibility of operating the facility as per Provincial rules.

Again, I wish to remind everyone to ensure that their properties and vehicles are locked to prevent theft. The RCMP urges us all to secure our belongings to prevent crimes of opportunity.

As always, it is a pleasure to serve you. Keep healthy and safe!