Big White: 6 RCMP officers to be stationed on the mountain for New Year’s Eve

Big White Ski Resort’s management team is hoping for a quiet night on New Year’s Eve.

“We’re really hoping that this is the one night that people play by the rules,” Big White Ski Resort’s senior vice president Michael Ballingall said.

“What we normally do up there, with the fireworks and the gathering in the Village Centre Mall, none of that is happening this year,” he added. “We are staying small: in your own bubble, in your own accommodation.”

A COVID-19 cluster on the ski hill first announced in mid-December has now reported 111 cases.

According to Interior Health’s latest update, 94 people have recovered so far but 17 cases are still active.

The health authority said the latest 15 cases announced on Tuesday were not unexpected and were connected to people who had already tested positive.

“We’re not as worried anymore,” Interior Health’s chief medical health officer said. “But we know people are isolating currently, and we want to make sure that people that already were sick and now they’re coming out of isolation soon, that they still stick to the rules.”

Big White has about 40 per cent fewer people than at this time last year, Ballingall said.

The ski resort is expecting half a dozen police officers to be stationed on the mountain for New Year’s Eve, he added.

“We think six (officers) is great because there’s not going to be a lot of outdoor activity because you’re easily spotted,” Ballingall said. “You’re not supposed to be outside your social bubble, and no socializing, so it’s really going to be (officers) knocking on the doors that are making noise and that are not playing by the rules.”

Ballingall said he expects some people who hear or see prohibited social gatherings will likely report them on the RCMP non-emergency line.

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