Innisfail & District Chamber of Commerce
5202 50th st T4G-1S1 Innisfail, AB, Canada

Hometown Christmas info for today

Today, we announced new measures to help slow spread of COVID-19, and we are declaring a public health emergency in Alberta. Let me be clear, we are not moving ...into a lockdown, but with targeted restrictions to help stop the spike and prevent our healthcare system from being overwhelmed. For the full details on today's announcement: https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm The medical data shows the number one area of COVID-19 spread is large social gatherings. As a result, indoor social gatherings are no longer permitted. Outdoor social gatherings will be limited to 10 people, and that includes weddings and funerals (with no receptions). This measure is mandatory and will be enforced with fines. Places of worship will be restricted to 1/3 capacity, and will be encouraged to move celebrations online. As for businesses in the "enhanced" status in Alberta, we will have 3 categories of new measures: - Closed - Open, with restrictions - Open, by appointment only Businesses and services that will need to close include: banquet halls, conference centres, trade shows, auditoria, community centres, children's play centres and indoor playgrounds, all team and individual sports. Restaurants, pubs, bars, and lounges will be able to remain open, subject to restrictions: - Maximum of 6 people from the same household at one table - Liquor service open until 10 pm, in-person dining closes at 11 pm - Only eating/drinking permitted - no other entertainment/services Retail establishments will also be able to remain open, at 25% capacity. These include grocery, clothing, hardware, automotive, liquor, computer and technology stores, pharmacies, farmer's markets. Other services and venues are also open, but subject to 25% capacity. These include museums and galleries, libraries, movie theatres, indoor entertainment centres and indoor fitness centres. Some businesses services will move to appointment only, and many of these have already taken precautions to operate this way. These include personal services like haircare, esthetics, wellness services, professional services, taxi and rideshare, hotels/motels, and private lessons. Another important measure - the school calendar has been updated. For grades 7-12, at-home learning will begin starting November 30, until the Winter Break starts after December 18. For all students, in-class learning will resume on January 11. I know that many of these changes will be disruptive to businesses and to all Albertans. We believe these measures carefully balance protecting lives AND livelihoods. At the end of the day, this is about protecting our healthcare system, which is at risk from rising hospitalizations and ICU cases. This is about protecting our loved ones and ensuring that Albertans who need critical access to other healthcare services can get them. These measures will be reviewed in 3 weeks, and could be extended if needed. I want to thank all Albertans in advance for your understanding and what you have done personally to protect yourself and those around you. Together, I know we can stop the spike and protect each other.

New Alberta Restrictions

LIVE at 4:30 - Watch Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health and officials provide an update on COVID-19 and the ongoing work to protect public health.

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