Businesses sit in restriction limbo
With active cases still above Alberta Health’s threshold, no time table has been given for when extended rules might be reviewed again
The fact COVID-19 restrictions were not eased this week is not a big surprise to at least one local business owner.
Maureen Newton, local artist and co-owner of Inspire Cafe, says she has gotten used to restrictions being extended and feels resigned to what has happened.
The current restrictions were announced Dec. 12 and were originally scheduled to lift on Jan. 12. Just before that date Premier Jason Kenney announced an extension to at least Jan. 21, this past Thursday. Personal service businesses like hair salons and tattoo shops were allowed to reopen on Jan. 18, and the requirement for massage therapists to have a referral letter from each client was lifted.
On Thursday afternoon Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, said there were would be no further lifting of restrictions and did not offer a possible time table for their extension.
While active cases have dropped recently and the numbers in hospital have declined, figures now are still similar to those in December when restrictions were put in place.
Hinshaw has also indicated that with no way to keep people from travelling zone to zone, a regional approach to restrictions would not be implemented, which is something local MLAs had been advocating for.
Drew Barnes, MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat, says he still believes restrictions should be tailored to regions.
“I will continue to advocate for a regional approach because it is the right thing for balancing this uncertain situation,” said Barnes.
He says case numbers are low here compared to other regions, and there are other variables to account for such as mental health issues that have developed or worsened during the pandemic.
Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Michaela Glasgo did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Colin DeWolfe, owner of Back Alley Fitness, was extremely upset when restrictions were extended to Jan. 21. He did not respond to a request for comment on Friday but had previously said that after the provincial lockdown in the spring, Premier Jason Kenney had promised a regional approach would be used in future.
Alberta Health has said in the past that any region over a 50-cases-per-100,000-person threshold will face restrictions. As of Friday those numbers for the province’s five health zones are as follows:
South zone is at 411 active cases for 133 per 100,000. The Central is at 849 for 176, Calgary at 3,839 for 226.25, Edmonton at 3,511 for 246.4 and the North at 1,366 for 281.7.
Newton says traditionally January is a slower month for a business such as Inspire Cafe. Even though they can open to sell takeout there have been challenges. The type of food clients ordered when they could sit in the restaurant is very different from what they want now to take away. That has meant juggling to meet that demand.
DeWolfe told the News a few weeks ago that of about 350 members who had checked in roughly 15,000 times at Back Alley Fitness, when it has been allowed to operate, there had not been any cases of COVID.