The City of St. Albert is trying to plan how to move forward under new COVID-19 restrictions while waiting for more information from the province.
The provincial government first banned group fitness activities and amateur team sports on Nov. 12, though gyms and recreation centres could stay open for individual training and exercise.
Then Premier Jason Kenney announced new measures on Nov. 24 in an attempt to protect the health system from being overwhelmed as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Alberta.
New rules were placed on businesses, including fitness centres, studios and gyms, limiting them to 25 per cent capacity. The measures are in place for at least three weeks.
On Tuesday, the city's emergency management advisory committee met to discuss how these new restrictions will affect the municipality, recessing until a date yet to be determined.
Kerry Hilts, deputy chief administrative officer, said the city is still in the process of assessing the impact of the new restrictions, but certain activities will remain open.
"We do have a lot of our programs and services still going, but we have to look at this from a safety lens," Hilts said. "We do encourage all of our citizens in St. Albert to stay active through outdoor or individual recreation activities."
Part of that discussion involves consideration of whether it makes sense to be running facilities under reduced capacity as well.
“We haven’t completed all of our analysis yet, and we're hoping to have that sometime next week," Hilts said.
The City of Calgary’s emergency management committee declared a second state of emergency following the province’s announcement on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the City of Edmonton chose not to follow suit at this time.
When asked if the City of St. Albert was considering declaring a state of local emergency, Hilts said it wasn't part of current discussions.
"I don't believe that it's something that is being looked at right now, but that is the decision of elected officials."
What’s the plan for now?
Registered programs and drop-in classes for recreation, fitness and aquatics are cancelled until further notice.
The same goes for group or sport team physical activities, including indoor and outdoor dryland training. Activities in city arenas including indoor rinks, field houses and gymnasiums are cancelled as well.
The Arden Theatre is closed until further notice as of Nov. 27. The theatre’s box office will reach out to ticket holders with more information on dates, refunds or credit options, according to the city.
“But we do have a number of programs and services that we are continuing to offer under the recreation lens,” Hilts said.
Swimmers can still practise their strokes with drop-in lane swimming at Servus Place and Fountain Park.
One-on-one personal training is still on at Servus Place. The weight room at Servus is open along with the indoor track and training centre.
While parts of St. Albert are shut down by new provincial rules, those itching to stretch their legs outdoors this winter still have options to choose from.
Plans to open up outdoor skating rinks in the city aren’t cooling down. Hilts said some outdoor rinks will be opening with up to 10 people allowed on the ice at a time. To give more people a chance to skate, users are asked to keep visits to one hour.
“We are waiting for further clarification from Alberta Health Services just to make sure that we're meeting the guidelines,” he said.
Kaden Salyn and Ella Broeksma had just gotten off the ice after shooting a few pucks at Flagstone Park Friday morning.
With hockey leagues on pause due to the pandemic, Salyn said he was glad to have the outdoor rinks still open.
“It's really nice to do, especially because hockey's closed down right now and we can't really go out with our teams. So it's nice to be able to go out with a couple of friends and skate around,” he said.
Strolling down Sturgeon River pathways, tobogganing at Seven Hills, snowshoeing, mountain biking and cross-country skiing are all options for residents to get outside and explore the city.
Morinville facilities
The Town of Morinville has announced how the province's new measures will affect its facilities.
The Morinville Leisure Centre is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. There will be no group fitness programming or group sport activities including badminton and pickleball. The Children's Play Space is closed as well.
Ice and court rentals are open for one-on-one sessions only and must be booked ahead of time. The walking track and fitness equipment is available for individual use only.
Public meeting rooms are not available for rent.
The Morinville Community Cultural Centre closed on Nov. 27 until further notice. Instead, all appointments with Family and Community Services will be done virtually.
The Morinville Town Office remains open as long as visitors are wearing face coverings when entering the building.
Starting Monday, the Morinville RCMP detachment will be closed to the public from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.
