Three months after declaring one, the City of Calgary will be allowing the state of local emergency (SOLE) to expire on Dec. 2.
The SOLE was declared on Sep. 3, following an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Delta variant.
At the time, city officials told the emergency management committee the SOLE was needed to give city agencies enhanced nimbleness for tasks like procurement and rapid testing.
“Once those powers are no longer needed, there’ll be no need for the state of local emergency,” then-mayor Naheed Nenshi said at the time.
A news release from the city on Tuesday said those powers are “no longer deemed necessary.”
“Most Calgarians have rolled up their sleeves to protect themselves, their loved ones and their community from the pandemic with 88 per cent of Calgarians aged 12 and older now fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and the vaccination for children aged 5-11 underway,” Chief Susan Henry of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) said in a statement.
According to provincial data, 18,417 children aged 5 to 11 received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine over the first weekend they were available to that age cohort.
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The CEMA chief urged continued caution with the pandemic despite recent downward trends in cases and hospitalizations.
The city’s mask and vaccine passport bylaws remain in place, even after the SOLE expires.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek said those are instrumental to continued economic activity.
“With the increase of vaccinations and the continued use of masks in public settings, we have been able to keep businesses and our economy open,” Gondek said in a statement.
“Calgarians must remember the pandemic is not yet over and we must remain vigilant.
“Please continue to wear your masks and get yourself and your kids vaccinated.”
But not everyone is in favour of the SOLE coming to an end at the end of its typical 90-day period.
Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong has written a letter to his colleagues on council as well as the mayor’s office requesting a special meeting of council on the matter.
Wong told Global News he’d prefer council make an informed decision on whether or not to let the SOLE expire following a briefing from the city’s emergency officials.
“I think it’s important to have that opportunity to talk to CEMA and get the best understanding so that we can make the right decisions going forward,” Wong said.
With a new variant emerging, and a confirmed case of Omicron confirmed in Alberta, Wong said he wants the city’s response to the pandemic to be proactive.
“While we are not as much in dire straits because we’re at the end of 90 days and our pandemic reactions have been tempered, this new variant might be one that triggers it,” Wong said. “So rather than wait to have this expire, wait for (Omicron) to emerge, come back and call for another state emergency… let’s get some understanding and make that decision before Thursday.”
Calgary’s Emergency Management Committee is set to meet for a regularly scheduled meeting on Friday, but as of Tuesday, there are no COVID-19 updates on the agenda.
Calgary’s previous pandemic-related SOLE was lifted on June 14 after being declared on Nov. 25, 2020.
Another SOLE was declared at the beginning of the pandemic and was in place from March 15, 2020 to June 12, 2020.
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