Edmonton mayor urges residents to follow COVID rules despite anger

Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson is urging residents to keep following COVID-19 rules, despite growing outrage over some provincial politicians and staff ignoring advice not to travel.

Several Alberta legislature members, including Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard, have admitted they travelled out of the country over the holidays. Allard resigned Monday and others have been stripped of responsibilities.

Iveson said Monday that many Edmontonians are justifiably angry about the non-essential travel.

But he said it’s not an excuse to flout the public-health rules - even out of frustration.

Iveson noted that Edmonton is the hardest hit city in the province and COVID-19 is still a “clear and present danger,” lives are at risk and the health-care system is under enormous pressure.

He urged all Edmontonians to continue taking the pandemic seriously to limit the spread of COVID-19.

“I, like most of you, stayed home this holiday season,” he wrote in a Twitter post.

“I did not gather with family and friends and followed … public health directives.

“I commend Edmontonians who did the same - your sacrifices and diligence have made a difference to case counts. Thank you for your leadership and civic-mindedness.”

The latest case data from the province on Dec. 30 shows Edmonton has had 43,341 COVID-19 cases. Of those, 6,624 cases were active and 515 were in hospital. A total of 552 people in the Edmonton region have died due to COVID-19.