Alberta's Famous Mountain Town Is Now In A State Of Emergency Because Of COVID-19 Cases

The province of Alberta has declared a local state of public health emergency and one small mountain town is following suit. As of Wednesday, November 25, COVID-19 has forced Banff to take action. 

Mayor Karen Sorensen said that the Banff and Lake Louise region has the second-highest number of cases per capita in the entire province. As such, they've declared a state of local emergency, too. 

As of now, Banff has 170 cases of COVID-19. To put that in perspective, the population is 13,849. 

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In times of crisis, you need to take extraordinary measures - and this is certainly a dire situation for the people of Banff. Mayor Sorensen

The mayor said in the news release that the state of emergency will help the town be nimble in responding to the rapidly changing situation. 

“This declaration will also amplify our communications to visitors and residents about the crisis in Banff. For visitors, they need to be aware of the high risk of transmission here," she said.

The release outlines several measures the town will be taking, effective immediately. 

Town facilities will be closing and there will be amplified communication with potential visitors to "increase awareness about the high number of positive COVID cases in Banff," among other things. 

There will also be new measures for businesses put forth on November 30.

While travel is still legal within the province, everyone is being asked to follow health orders and get familiar with local orders before travelling to a different municipality.