Family gatherings blamed for high COVID numbers in the city

By Lethbridge Herald on March 12, 2021.

Herald filephoto by Ian Martens Mayor Chris Spearman is disappointed the Alberta legislature has noted not to reverse the EMS dispatch decision. @IMartensHerald

Gillian Slade
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Alberta Health Services (AHS) says the high number of COVID cases in Lethbridge is due to family gatherings and the City says it continues to liaise with the health authority about the situation.
The City of Lethbridge currently has 76.2 per cent of the active COVID cases in the whole of the South zone. According to data released by Alberta Health on Friday Lethbridge has 356 active cases and the South zone has 467 active cases.
“A majority of transmissions of the virus in South Zone continue to be the result of family gatherings and visitation between households,” said Patrick Burles, spokesperson for AHS, in an emailed response to questions.
Burles says there have been some cases linked to outbreaks at businesses and organizations but many of them are providing frequent testing of people on site whether symptomatic or asymptomatic.
Mayor Chris Spearman says the City of Lethbridge is working closely with AHS.
“We are certainly not the health experts and do not have the knowledge and expertise in the area of disease control. We rely on our partners at Alberta Health Services to do that,” said Spearman in an emailed response to questions
“We are working hard to support them by sharing important information with our community and providing whatever municipal resources might be needed to manage the pandemic.”
Spearman did not comment on possible transmission and says that tracking cases and understanding trends is the important work of AHS.
“It is certainly our role to make sure our community understands the increasing risks here in Lethbridge and encouraging everyone to continue following the provincial guidelines and refrain from social gatherings,” said Spearman.
Early in the pandemic, April 2020, Brooks was dealing with a sudden surge of cases.
In an interview with Medicine Hat News at the time, Mayor Barry Morishita said he worked with AHS to see a significant increase in testing.
He also expressed frustration with people not following the restrictions at that stage and promised “a more aggressive stance in terms of enforcement.”
Three months later, in July last year, Morishita credited two of that City’s initiatives for getting the number of cases reduced.
There had been two large scale drive-through testing opportunities for those without symptoms and the City had contributed $107,557 towards the cost of the initiative arranged through AHS.
Morishita specifically thanked Premier Jason Kenney for helping to make the additional testing happen.
AHS says, in Lethbridge, it continues to have testing capacity for symptomatic individuals, close contacts of a confirmed case and those linked to known outbreaks.
Burles said that AHS is also working with businesses and organizations to ensure compliance with the Chief Medical Officer of Health’s orders and COVID-19 restrictions.
When a significant risk is identified or if there is continued non-compliance, AHS resorts to enforcement action. AHS does not provide direction to police or municipal enforcement but works in partnership with them and Alberta Health.
Spearman says the city is not currently considering introducing any additional restrictions.
“As we move into the all-important task of having our community vaccinated, we will continue to be a strong partner with AHS and make sure we are doing all we can to make that process go as quickly and smoothly as possible for our community,” said Spearman.