A new website aimed at the younger adult population in Fernie has been launched to help bring together as many of the answers as possible when it comes to COVID-19, getting tested and when to isolate.
Executive director of Tourism Fernie, Jikke Gyorki said that current data on the COVID-19 community cluster had shown a new resource was needed according to various organizations operating in Fernie.
“Data has indicated that many of the current cases are a result of local social gatherings that are going against the current PHO order and the challenges of following, or being able to follow, the orders when living in housing where multiple singles are sharing living quarters together,” she said.
“This new website aims to provide information to help this audience with understanding the current restrictions, where to get assistance and information, how to have household conversations and setting expectations, what isolation means and more.”
The website, Fernie Strong, can be found at ferniestrong.com.
In their declaration last week, Interior Health (IH) said that … there was “no single location or event tied to a majority of cases; they primarily appear to be associated with local social gatherings.”
Gyorki said that the while tourism was significantly down due to travel restrictions and all businesses locally have been impacted, Fernie was seeing strong local support for the business community.
She added that while travel was down, there was still some occurring.
“We are also still seeing some travel into the community, mostly essential but also non-essential since the travel restrictions by the province are an advisory and not an order.
“The new cluster and the expected increase in enforcement measures are indicating that there will be further impacts on businesses in town as residents more carefully choose when and how often to go out. Decreasing the local cases is a priority and indications locally are that this is already happening.”
The number of active cases linked to the community cluster in the Fernie area was down to 60 cases, from 63 when first announced early last week.
B.C. premier John Horgan has indicated that after seeking legal advice, any limitations on inter-provincial travel are not on the table, with the B.C. government instead opting to strongly discourage non-essential travel and travel outside of your own community.
READ MORE: Cluster mostly confined to Fernie: Sparwood Mayor
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