“We’re looking at the egregious violators, that’s what we’re looking to deal with,” he said.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi added that additional enforcement will be also seen in off-leash dog parks in the coming days.
“We’re going to have bylaw officers at dog parks as the weather gets nicer, frankly to see if these off-leash dog parks should remain open,” he said.
“You’re going to see more of a presence in places where people congregate.
“Our goal is never to write people tickets but to educate people.”
Nenshi also suggested a new idea to residents utilizing sidewalks during the pandemic.
“We have a new plan and a new idea for you which is that if you’re out on the sidewalk, then follow the flow of traffic,” he said.
Nenshi added the one-way idea will help keep people from running into oncoming pedestrians, creating a more efficient way to ensure physical distancing.
“This is sort of a silly, fun thing, it’s something for the kids to do — get some chalk out on the sidewalks and paint arrows, reminding people what direction to walk in.”
In her daily COVID-19 update to the province on Friday afternoon, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw also stressed the importance of physical distancing as the weather begins to warm up.
“We’ve had a very long and delayed winter, so I’m sure Albertans are very keen as the weather warms up over the next week or so, to get outside and to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine,” Hinshaw said.
“But I do want to remind Albertans that it is important to remain physically distant from others.”
She noted that finding outdoor activities for children that will limit the touching of any surfaces is important while spending time outdoors.
“Thinking of activities like flying a kite, kicking a soccer ball and doing things that aren’t going to put kids at risk of being exposed,” she said.
The city also announced on Friday that additional garbage bag pickup is being re-introduced in the city.
On April 8, the city announced the collection of extra waste outside of bins had been temporarily suspended to help keep staff safe amid the pandemic. However, effective April 21, additional pick-up will be accessible as long as bags are secure, Sampson said.
“You are going to be able to leave out extra bags of waste if your cart is full,” he said.
“If you put bags out beside your bins, make sure they’re securely tied.”
Officials also noted that since March 6, the city has received 11,120 COVID-19 related calls to the 311 system.
Sampson said that represents almost 15 per cent of all 311 calls received during that time period. He added that many of those calls are related to residents not following physical distancing protocols.
The city remains in a state of local emergency, that status was renewed on Wednesday for an additional seven days.
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