Calling Lake under lockdown

ATHABASCA - Residents of Calling Lake are among those now under strict guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the community and beyond.

The M.D. of Opportunity, which borders Athabasca County to the north, and Bigstone Cree Nation each passed motions March 23 to implement a curfew and restrict access to the community to residents and essential workers only.

M.D. of Opportunity reeve Marcel Auger said the decision came about as a result of the recommendations by local health care professionals and emergency coordination staff.

The municipal district is still free of a positive coronavirus result and Auger intends on keeping it that way. He also noted a newly completed seniors facility that was not yet functional is now doubling as an isolation centre.

“We do feel our population here in our community are a little more high risk than in other areas of the province, due to diabetes, and smoking and other respiratory conditions they may have had previously. This is the reason we’ve taken the extra precautions,” said Auger.

Those extra precautions include an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and any vehicle or individual who is not authorized to travel during these curfew hours will be escorted home by the RCMP as well as given a $500 ticket per person.

Road monitors from Bigstone Cree Nation have taken up positions on the roads leading into the community and are stringent about who is allowed to enter or not.

“They’ve got protocols and processes, there was a little bit of training for the guys set up at the checkpoints, so they’re sharing the messages and following the same protocol,” said Auger.

Visitors that do not reside within the borders of the district or the Bigstone Cree Nation will not be allowed entry. Essential service providers like truck drivers delivering goods or anyone doing business in the area is permitted.

Industrial workers are being asked to go directly to and from their work sites and to have minimal interaction with the community.

Community members are allowed to leave, but must isolate themselves for 14 days upon their return, or pay a $2,000 fine.

“We’ve taken it upon ourselves to make decisions based on what we feel our community needs, rather than wait for the province to make those decisions because we feel we’re in a little different situation than and Edmonton or a Grande Prairie,” said Auger.

“The biggest thing is that we’re trying to let people know that this needs to be taken seriously. The last thing that I want to see is us writing out fines and giving out tickets because people are experiencing a difficult time as it is. We needed to put something behind this.”

Auger also pointed out the problem of having such a large municipal district, that largely being the isolation of some of the communities and the lack of services available there. For instance, he said, while Wabasca may have a hospital and a pharmacy and other well-used services, places like Calling Lake are a little different.

“When we’re dealing with Calling Lake, it’s a little different for us, because people need to have access to Athabasca (60 km away). What we’re telling people is that maybe instead of going to Athabasca every day, maybe go once a week. And if you’re going to go into Athabasca, you don’t need to go with a truckload of people.” said Auger.

Chris Zwick, TownandCountryToday.com

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