Paul Bickford/NNSL photo
It's May and now that the winter season appears to be over people will be looking forward to more outdoor activities.
However, don't look to the Town of Hay River's recreational facilities, such as playgrounds and ball fields.
Judy Goucher, the town's senior administrative officer, said those facilities are closed because of the Covid-19 crisis, and will remain so until there is further guidance from Kami Kandola, the NWT's chief public health officer.
"Those areas are closed right now because of her orders in terms of numbers of people who are allowed to gather," said Goucher in comments to The Hub on April 30.
The town doesn't want to do anything that would contradict the orders, the SAO added. "If and when we're able to open them, we would have to have rules in place for social distancing assuming that order is still in place."
Among restrictions that came into effect on April 11, Kandola allowed only outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people as long as there is appropriate social distancing.
The town has plans to maintain the green spaces and playgrounds, and will be redeploying some of its staff to those areas.
However, Goucher said the town doesn't have a date for when those areas will be open to the public, or whether or not there will be a baseball season or a soccer season.
And she said that, until the town gets more information from Kandola, it can't really come out with plans on how the green spaces will be used.
Goucher said the best thing for now is for people to stay away from the outdoor recreational facilities, both because of social distancing and to avoid touching surfaces of equipment that might possibly have the coronavirus.
"As soon as we can get them reopened we absolutely will," she said.
As for how the town will keep people out of the recreational areas, Goucher said that is all about education.
"So we would hope that through education people would comply and they would understand that this is being done for their own safety," she said, noting the town's bylaw officer will be doing patrols and people can also report violations to the Protect NWT tip line.
Goucher was asked how the public health orders would affect Porritt Landing.
"We haven't talked through that one, whether or not people are gathering or if they're just launching their boats and leaving," she said. "If they're not coming into contact with anyone and there's no large gathering, it may not be an issue for Porritt Landing."
However, the orders, as long as they are in effect, will impact Fisherman's Wharf, the popular outdoor market.
That is unfortunate, said Goucher. "But it is by definition a place to gather in the summertime in Hay River. It's so popular and people love to go down there on a Saturday."
Goucher said people can use the trail system in Hay River.
"You just have to be mindful," she said, noting people can use the trails as long as they practise physical distancing.