EDMONTON -- The mayor of an Alberta cottage community is echoing calls from public health authorities for residents to stay home, and not visit vacation properties amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"We want to make sure we reinforce what’s already out there with social distancing and crowd control," said Don Oborowsky, mayor of the summer village of Argentia Beach at Pigeon Lake.
Oborowsky says his village, located about an hour's drive south of Edmonton, starts getting busy with the May long weekend, but ahead of that, he's reminding potential returnees that Argentia Beach may not be the best place to maintain physical distance, noting "we don't have hospitals here."
"You can be assured they don’t have as much food in their cottage … as they have in their home. And you can be sure they’ll be sneaking out and running out to get whatever they need," he said.
"That’s my bigger concern, them running out from their cottage into the public space … when they really need to stay at home."
Yesterday, Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health set out a simliar sentiment in her daily press conference.
"This is also not the time for people to go out to their summer cottages or seasonal villages to self-isolate," she said.
"Services and supports are limited in these communities. Please stay in your own home, and away from others, if you are feeling unwell."
Oborowsky says he hopes visitors and the community's regular residents take note.
"We’ve got to smarten up."
