COVID-19 Status Update

July 9, 2020

To aid in resident's understanding of Hinton Emergency Operation Centre, Hinton Town Council, and Town of Hinton Administration responses to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic event, this update gathers recent news into one document. While emergent issues and information will continue to be shared as necessary, weekly updates going forward will use this format to gather, but also distinguish between, actions in place in the community.

Updates Section

This section of our update document will itemize updated information for easy access, while the document overall will continue to repeat relevant sections from previous weeks' updates. Strategic Services considers all information presented below important to our local audiences.

New July 9, 2020

Opening Plans
Drinnan Notice
ComServ Issue 4
Masks Returning

Physical Distancing, Provincial Group Restrictions, and Cleaning Practices Must Continue
It is essential that residents and businesses understand that suppression activities, in particular maintaining safe distances, must be maintained.

If not maintained, transmission will rapidly rebound, potentially producing an epidemic comparable in scale to what would have been seen had no interventions been adopted.

The Town, and Province, need your help to continue to restrict your activities in the interest of community health. Distancing, hand washing, and sanitizing is absolutely crucial.

Residents, businesses, and visitors choosing to remain non-compliant on physical distancing or gathering parameters can, and should, anticipate provincial fines being levied directly moving forward.

Events or Gatherings of 200 or more in an outdoor space and 50 or more indoors can, and will, be ticketed under provincial restrictions.
There are exceptions, as listed below.

Hinton Emergency Operations Centre

The Hinton Emergency Operations Centre has concluded it's SOLE. As result, we now operate entirely under the restrictions of the province. As such, this section will now be used to share changes in provincial statuses relevant to the community. This is provided for ease of access - please refer to the Provincial website for up to the minute information.

Free non-medical masks will soon be back at A&W, McDonald's Canada, and Tim Hortons locations across Alberta.

Distribution of masks through these restaurant partners will resume on July 13. More details will be included with the official launch announcement. Read more on the Government of Alberta Website, available here.

Phase 2 Now Underway

There are new updates to Phase 2, expanding capacity for outdoor events.

Expanded outdoor gatherings

Up to 200 people can now attend audience-type community outdoor events, such as festivals, fireworks displays, rodeos and sporting events, and outdoor performances.
All public health measures, including physical distancing, remain in place. Seated outdoor events will still require the necessary space between families and cohorts within stadium-style seating.
The 100-person limit remains in place for other outdoor events and indoor seated/audience events.
The limit for indoor social gatherings, including wedding and funeral receptions and birthday parties, remains at 50 people maximum.

Phase 2: Previous

What can open with restrictions

K-12 schools, for requested diploma exams and summer school, following guidance
Libraries
More surgeries
Wellness services such as massage, acupuncture and reflexology
Personal services (esthetics, cosmetic skin and body treatments, manicures, pedicures, waxing, facial treatment, artificial tanning)
Indoor recreation, fitness, and sports, including gyms and arenas
Movie theatres and theatres
Community halls
Team sports
Pools for leisure swimming
VLTs in restaurants and bars
Casinos and bingo halls (but not table games)
Instrumental concerts

The 50 per cent capacity limit for provincial campgrounds is also being lifted. Over the coming days, the online reservation system will be updated and sites will come online in phases. By July 1, all camping sites will be open for reservations. First-come, first-served sites may open sooner. Information on additional sites will be added to alberta.parks.ca when they become available.

Events and gatherings can be larger in stage two

Maximum 50 people:

Indoor social gatherings – including wedding and funeral receptions, and birthday parties

Maximum 100 People:

Limit remains in place for other outdoor events and indoor seated/audience events.

Maximum 200 people can now attend audience-type community outdoor events, such as festivals, fireworks displays, rodeos and sporting events, and outdoor performances.

All public health measures, including physical distancing, remain in place. Seated outdoor events will still require the necessary space between families and cohorts within stadium-style seating.
The 100-person limit remains in place for other outdoor events and indoor seated/audience events.
The limit for indoor social gatherings, including wedding and funeral receptions and birthday parties, remains at 50 people maximum.

No cap on the number of people (with public health measures and physical distancing in place):

Worship gatherings
Restaurants, cafés, lounges and bars
Casinos
Bingo halls

There is more flexibility for ‘cohort’ groups – small groups of people whose members do not always keep two metres apart:

A household can increase its close interactions with other households to a maximum of 15 people
Performers can have a cohort of up to 50 people (cast members or performers)
Sports teams can play in region-only cohorts of up to 50 players (mini leagues)
People could be part of a sports/performing and household cohort
Everyone is encouraged to follow public health guidelines and notify others in the cohort(s) if they have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19. If they do test positive or have symptoms, mandatory isolation is required.

Still not approved in stage two

Social gatherings that exceed above listed maximums
Regular in-school classes for kindergarten to Grade 12. Classes will resume September 2020
Vocal concerts (as singing carries a higher risk of transmission)
Major festivals and concerts, large conferences, trade shows and events (as these are non-seated social events and/or vocal concerts)
Nightclubs
Amusement parks
Hookah lounges (permitted for food and drink only)
Major sporting events and tournaments
Non-essential travel outside the province is not recommended. This recommendation will not be lifted until stage three of the relaunch strategy.

The success of stage two will determine when Alberta progresses to stage three. Factors are active cases, health-care system capacity, hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) cases, and infection rates.

For more information, visit alberta.ca/RelaunchStrategy.

For residents ease, please find images representing the above, below.

Using Outdoor Spaces

Sharing the path
People of all ages and mobility enjoy the outdoor paths. Please be considerate and aware of all path users.

All cyclists should be using their bell when passing others on the paths. When you are approaching someone, ring your bell, slowdown, and pass off path when safe to do so.
If you are using the paths and you hear a bell, please slow down, look around, and move off path if you need to.

Runners please allow enough room to safely pass others.

Hinton Town Council

The most recent Standing Committee of Council meeting was July 7, 2020. It is available via YouTube at Hinton.ca/CouncilLive. Agenda items included Procurement Policy FN-1300, Northwest Alberta Charging Network, Solid Waste Management Program, and Amendments to Remuneration Policy #052. The next regular meeting will be July 14, 2020.

Council meetings are closed to the public and occurring via teleconferencing. However, they are being live streamed via Youtube to allow residents to remain engaged in the democratic process in this pandemic event.

Town of Hinton Administration

Facility Opening Plans

For residents convenience, the Town of Hinton has prepared, and updated, the above image representing open statuses and plans for many core facilities.

For further reference on Community Services' statuses and updates, please view tomorrow's edition of ComServ (more information below)

Reopened

Government Centre
Spray Park, Spray Park Washroom and Change Rooms
All Outhouses (Bike Park / Mary Reimer sports fields / Maxwell Lake/ Lions Park / Erith Park)
Tennis Courts/Pickle Ball Courts
Protective Services (RCMP) Building
Infrastructure Services Building
Mary Reimer Park washroom facility

Courts/Other Facilities
Courts 1, 2, & 4 and Meeting Room available for public use. Bouldering wall will remain closed until precautionary measures are in place.
Target for reopening July 13, 2020

The West Fraser Guild

Reduced Hours Tentative: July 13, 2020
Full Opening Tentative: August 4, 2020

Emergency Services Building (Fire Hall/Bylaw Offices)
Tentative date of July 13, 2020 targeted for reopening.

Hinton Municipal Library
Phase 2 coming soon! Phase 2 of the library's Relaunch Transition Plan will expand on appointment only services including lobby pickups, exam proctoring, and use of public computers.

Kinsmen Park Public Washroom Facilities/Porta-Potties
July

Athabasca Riverfront Park
Targeted for completion July 17, 2020

Pool
(pool opening tentative date: late August)

More information in tomorrow's ComServ.

Arenas
(ice available tentative date: late August)
More information in tomorrow's ComServ.

Youth Centre
Scheduled for Reopening September 7, 2020.

Advance Notice: Drinnan Way Closure Week of July 20, 2020

Town of Hinton Infrastructure Services Division gives notice to all Town of Hinton residents and area travelers that we are currently working to schedule a road closure on Drinnan Way. The closure, which is expected to last two days, will occur the week of July 20th, 2020, and is carried out to allow for the replacement of a wooden culvert that has reached its end of life.

Due to the scale of this activity, the Town needs to coordinate with many area partners, including local utility companies as well as noting local weather conditions and other similar concerns. As such, an exact date of activity has not been determined, but the Town of Hinton is advising that area travelers plan around the potential of a closure along their route.

As soon as an exact date has been determined, the Town will share that date for residents awareness.

We thank you for your understanding as we carry out this necessary construction task.

Comserv Issue 4 to be Released Friday

To aid is residents understanding of all of community services current status, plans, and programming, ComServ, a newsletter from Community Services and Strategic Services at the the Town of Hinton, will be issued every other week on Friday mornings. Our next edition will be July 10, 2020. During the pandemic, the newsletter will be issued through both it's own channel and this (News and Announcements) channel. The newsletter may also be subscribed to directly via NotifyMe, available here, or viewed online at Hinton.ca/ComServ.

Learn More

Town of Hinton Previous Update (April 09, 2020)
Town of Hinton COVID Webpage
Town of Hinton Defer Webpage
Town of Hinton SOLE Webpage
Province of Alberta COVID Webpage
Province of Alberta - Emergency Management Act
Government of Canada COVID Webpage
World Health Organization COVID Website

Questions

Residents with questions are asked to contact info@hinton.ca. Responses may be delayed due to EOC needs.

Members of local media with questions are asked to use the Public Information Officer contact information by clicking here or call 780-865-6001 and leave a message. Messages regarding PIO response will be returned within one business day.