No golf just yet as Calgary takes a cautious look at reopening

Calgary's mayor says the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in the city won't occur as quickly as some people are hoping for after the Alberta government announced its framework for slowlyreopening the province on Thursday.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Friday that the loosening up of restrictions due to the pandemicannounced a day earlier by Premier Jason Kenney would only happen in Calgary once proper precautions were in place. Kenney said the province would take a phased approach to easing restrictions and those stages would be revisited depending on the state of the outbreak.

Nenshi said he was alarmed when he first heard the province announcethat some businesses could reopen on May 14, thinking it was too soon.

But he said the government made it clear that date wasaspirational and would depend on whether COVID-19 cases were stable or falling.

"Don't circle May 14 on your calendar a 'Normal Day':that's not going to happen,"Nenshi said Friday as he was joined by the city manager and the Calgary Emergency Management Agency leaderto give an update on the city's response to the pandemic.

Nenshi said Calgary must take into account that it has far more cases than other areas of the province.As of the province'sThursday afternoon update, the Calgary zone had 3,590 confirmed cases, compared to 490 in the Edmonton zone, for example, out of 5,355 total cases in the province and 89 deaths.

The mayor says it will be important forCalgariansto redouble their efforts to maintain physical distancing and says the city, along with the province, encourages the wearing of masks when in unavoidably busy places.

No city golf courses this weekend

One thing that will not happen is the reopening of city-owned golf courses on Saturday, despite the province saying courses could reopen, the mayor said.

"When people are laid off, they aren't there anymore," Nenshi said in reference to workers that would be needed to prepare the courses.

Nenshi also said the city has to have a conversation about whether opening its courses is the right decision.

City playgrounds will also remain closed, as will the libraries. Both involve a lot of touched surfaces and both make it impossible to trace individuals who might have come into contact with the virus.

Nenshi said all businesses should take the same approach and make sure they're doing what's right for them when considering whether or not to reopen.

To that end, he said there could be some announcements about how the city could help businesses coming soon, and he pointed to changes in permits and licensing passed by council on Thursday.

Eager and anxious

Autumn Fox works as a bartender and server at Broken City and is apprehensive about returning to work as early as May 14.

"How do you interact with customers at a distance where you cantalk to them and hear them and understand them and communicate with them when you have a face mask on and are limited to being twometres away from them?" she said.

"It just doesn't seem feasible."

Redbloom Salon owner Troy Winget shares some of those feelings and says he's in non-stop planning mode.

"I've gone through the gamut of feelings: excited, apprehensive and scared," he said.

Others, however, are confident.

"We're really looking forward to seeing people's faces," said Carolyn Evans, the owner of Revival Brewcade.

Enforcement

Sue Henry, the deputy chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, said they are waiting on more guidance from the province before determining how they will monitor and enforce rules once businesses start to reopen.

The focus will first be on education of the rules, rather than enforcement, she said.

Mayor Nenshi breaks down the dos and don'ts of the reopening strategy

4 years ago

Duration 3:41

Wonder if you can have a backyard barbecue with 15 of your friends? Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi says no. Find out his other tips.