As COVID-19 continues to spread around the country, the City of Fernie has taken action to mitigate exposure in an effort to keep residents safe and healthy. As a result, various social gatherings and facilities have been shut down for the foreseeable future.
In lieu of the rapidly progressing virus updates, the city has decided to close all public municipal facilities until further notice. As a result, City Hall, the Fire Hall, and the Operations Facility are all closed to the public, however their services remain available via phone or email.
The Fernie Memorial Arena, the Aquatic Centre, and the Community Centre have also shut down until future updates, however the Memorial Arena will not be opening again for the remainder of the season. In terms of the Aquatic Centre, swim lesson registration is also being cancelled, and all lessons are to be postponed until more information has been received.
At the time of publication, the city is also not accepting new rentals at municipal facilities, and any bookings that have been previously made at the Max Turyk Community Centre are being cancelled and refunded. In terms of council meetings, digital options that allow for remote viewing and participation are being explored, and the meetings will continue to be streamed and recorded to be viewed online.
“The city made the decision to close public access to all our facilities to help reduce the risk of any potential spread,” explained Michael Boronowski, chief administrative officer for the City of Fernie. “As we work to shift our operations and support staff that are able to work remotely in doing so, we’re communicating with our amazing community partners and looking towards how we facilitate collaboration in response to this rapidly changing situation. We’re encouraged by all the community members doing their part to reduce the potential burden on our local healthcare resources.”
As of Monday, Fernie Alpine Resort (FAR) has also halted their operations for at least one week. Along with FAR’s restaurants seeing closure, such as The Rusty Edge who is taking at minimum a week off of operations, events scheduled at the ski hill are being postponed or cancelled too. Festivities such as Hot Dog Day, as well as events such as the Dirty Dancer Banked Slalom, are now of a ‘to be determined’ status.
Other small businesses throughout town have also made changes to the way they offer their services. Rooftop Coffee Roasters have removed their seating options in an effort to practice social distancing, and are only offering coffee in to go cups. Evolution Gym, Soar, and Essential Yoga have all temporarily shut down their services. The Arts Station is also set to close as of March 17.
The closures have affected various hotels and hostels in town, with the Raging Elk Hostel having cancelled $8,000 worth of bookings to date. Dr. Kahane’s office is closing for the remainder of the week due to employees having attended a dental conference after which all attendees were ordered into isolation.
The attempt to promote social distancing has also greatly impacted bars and restaurants throughout town. Many such as The Northern have made changes to capacity levels and cancelled their live music events. Others, such as The Royal, have shut down completely until further notice.
“Due to the COVID-19 situation, local businesses are focusing on protecting their staff and their customers as a precautionary measure in the event that COVID-19 does present itself in the community and to prevent any spreading of the virus. This is a temporary measure,” said Jikke Gyorki, executive officer at Tourism Fernie. “Also, many businesses are seeing a dramatic decrease in business levels as customers spend more time at home and less time in places where people congregate. This decrease in business levels has also prompted reduced levels of operation for the interim.”
The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) has also closed its facilities to all public access. That being said, their services remain open for business as the public is encouraged to contact them through phone or email regarding matters related to payments, applications, or other inquiries. The RDEK will issue a statement in the upcoming days delineating any other meeting cancellations or postponments.
As of March 16, a provincial order bans all social gatherings of groups of more than 50 people. This impacts events such as Fernie Stoke Fest, which is now considering postponing the event to a later date if possible. For the time being, conveners are issuing refunds to anyone who has already purchased a ticket.
Another local organization that has taken measures to protect against the spread of the virus is the Columbia Basin Trust. In response to the provincial health officer’s recommendations to limit public gatherings, they have officially postponed several of their scheduled public meetings and are monitoring the situation to determine if future community meetings should also be cancelled. The Trust seeks to reschedule all postponed events, and will inform the public once details become available.
“The implications for our economy, as with all other places, will be very impactful, however, we are a community with a history of perseverance and if we work together we will get through this. The regional, provincial and federal government is also working on measures to support local communities, families and businesses,” said Gyorki.
Though currently the risk of COVID-19 remains low for British Columbians, the status of the virus is rapidly progressing. As a result, in a note issued on their website, the City of Fernie urges anyone who has travelled internationally in the past 14 days to stay away from city facilities. Anyone who may have been exposed to the virus is urged to call 811, or get into contact with their care provider over the phone.
The Free Press will have an updated list of local closures and cancellations on their website at Thefreepress.ca.
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