The City of Edmonton announced Wednesday it will close recreation facilities and suspend in-person services in light of the new provincial health measures to reduce transmission of COVID-19.
All city recreation facilities currently open to the public will close after the last reserved time slot on Saturday and remain closed for at least 28 days. On Thursday, city officials said the closures will result in temporary layoffs of some city staff.
The city will continue to offer virtual fitness classes, such as Zumba, Yoga, Tabata and Bootcamp. Edmontonians can register at MoveLearnPlay.edmonton.ca.
With recreation centres closing as of Dec. 13, in-person sales of monthly Ride Transit Program passes will be suspended. Passes can still be purchased online at ride.edmonton.ca.
All 21 Edmonton Public Library locations will be closed for four weeks effective Sunday, Dec. 13. Available holds can be picked up in-branch before Saturday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m.
During the temporary closure, library takeout service will be available at select EPL locations, borrowed materials can be returned using the outside return chutes and customers can access digital resources.
The Prince of Wales Armouries and the Orange Hub will only be open for tenants. All public health guidelines must be followed in these facilities.
The city is still evaluating what the new rules mean for the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Zoominescence will remain open to ticket holders through Dec. 12 and an update will be provided as soon as possible for dates after Dec. 12.
Outdoor ice surfaces will remain open but park pavilions at outdoor ice rinks will be closed, with access only permitted to washroom facilities.
Victoria Park Skating Oval and IceWay and The Meadows Community Recreation Centre outdoor leisure ice will remain open with new safety measures in place.
The Rundle Park IceWay is expected to open on Friday, Dec. 11.
Cross-country skiing trails, walking trails and toboggan hills remain open with physical distancing and social gathering restrictions in place.
READ MORE: Alberta’s new COVID-19 measures ban in-person dining; retail to remain open
The Alberta government announced Tuesday a ban on all indoor and outdoor social gatherings province-wide.
However, Dr. Deena Hinshaw explained outdoor rinks would remain open to allow households and individuals the chance to access physical activities outside.
“Group social activities are not allowed at this time,” Alberta’s chief medical officer said on Tuesday. “That’s defined in terms of people coming together, mixing, mingling, socializing and spending that time together in that spot.
“But what we have not prohibited is the ability for people to do fitness activities.
“So to go for a walk, as long as there’s distancing. People can skate on outdoor rinks as long as there’s two metres of distancing between them if they’re from different households.
“The outdoor fitness-type activities at this time, again, are not prohibited or restricted except for the requirement for distancing. And that distinction, again, is that we don’t want people gathering together, socializing and being in close contact. And that is exactly what the restriction is targeted at,” Hinshaw said.
On Thursday, Mayor Don Iveson said dog parks will remain open, but also noted that could change.
“We’ll work hard to put as many options in place for folks to be outside and then support people making the right decisions with signage, with education and with enforcement,” he said.
“Closure would be the last resort.”
Interim city manager Adam Laughlin said Thursday that it’s important for Edmontonians to follow public health guidelines and suggested the city is veering closer to an approach that focuses on enforcement, as opposed to educating people about the rules.
“We’re feeling like we need to do that to make sure that people get the point that this is serious,” he said.
More city staff with the ability to issue fines will be deployed to popular spots to ensure that people are following public health guidelines.
A province-wide mask mandate is also included in the new rules, making face coverings mandatory in all indoor public spaces across Alberta.
The premier announced certain businesses like restaurants, bars, casinos, libraries, museums, gyms and personal health services, like hair and nail salons, must all close by Dec. 13.
Other retail businesses — and places of worship — can remain open, but with a 15 per cent capacity limit.
READ MORE: Edmonton COVID-19 committee recommends circuit-breaker lockdown amid rising cases, hospitalizations
The mayors of both Edmonton and Calgary welcomed the tighter rules from the province, stressing more action was clearly needed to reduce COVID-19 case numbers and the mounting pressure on the health care system.
In fact, earlier Tuesday, Edmonton city council passed a motion “calling on the Alberta government to enact much stronger restrictions, based on clear, compelling expert advice from the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association.”
“These restrictions will be tough to bear — more so for vulnerable people in our community and for struggling businesses — but there is provincial, municipal and substantial federal aid available that should allow us all to do the right thing and follow these new public health measures to stop this virus,” Mayor Don Iveson said.
“We should have done this weeks ago and I’ve been saying that for weeks,” Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Tuesday on Global News Morning.
He called bringing in the new public health measures “the right thing to do. We needed to take tough action to protect the vulnerable and support our health care system,” he said.
“We are in this together, even though we are apart.”
Alberta reported 1,460 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 15 additional deaths from the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Alberta’s COVID-19 death toll now stands at 653.
There were 685 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19 on Wednesday, with 121 of those people being treated in intensive care.
Alberta’s active case count of COVID-19 now stands at 20,199. There have been 73,488 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alberta.
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