Following recommendations from Alberta Health Services issued yesterday (March 12), the County of Grande Prairie will be cancelling public events of 250 people or more and gatherings of more than 50 people that include international participants, critical infrastructure staff, seniors, or other high-risk populations.

This means the Farm Family Banquet scheduled for March 13 is being postponed due to the County’s desire to protect attendees in the high-risk category.

“Making the decision to cancel public events, particularly the Farm Family Banquet, was difficult, especially considering the risk in Alberta is still considered low and there are no probable or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our region,” said Reeve Leanne Beaupre.

“However, we do appreciate that this situation is evolving rapidly. As a municipality, we are responsible for the health and safety of our residents and we believe it is in the best interests of the community that we follow the province’s recommendations.”

In addition, the County is asking employees and the public who are experiencing flu-like symptoms to not come into County facilities, including the Administration Building, Community Services, Building, all fire stations, FCSS office, the Wellington Resource Centre, and the County Public Works Shop in Beaverlodge.

“It is important for the public and our staff to be diligent about social distancing and exercising self-quarantine if they are not feeling well,” said Dan Lemieux, director of community services. “Alberta Health Services has excellent information on the coronavirus outbreak and steps people can take to protect themselves and others.”

The County is also implementing internal measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We have cancelled all work-related travel outside of Alberta for employees, effective immediately. Employees who travel outside the province for personal reasons will be assessed before returning to work, and all staff have been asked to follow the recommendation of Alberta Health Services to self-isolate for 14 days if returning from outside of Canada,” said Dan Lemieux, director of community services.

“The Grande Prairie Regional Emergency Partnership (GPREP) has been activated and have established a Task Force to monitor COVID-19 and help guide our response.”