As Yellowknifers look forward to Easter weekend residents are reminded to retain physical distancing and other public health measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Mayor Rebecca Alty spoke to NNSL Media on Thursday to give an update on developments around the virus and how the city is responding. She said remaining committed to health and safety practices like 14-day self isolation, physical distancing and frequent hand washing - as ordered by Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kami Kandola - remains critical, even as a holiday and warming weather approaches.
"In general I think it is a case of ensuring that we don't let up or stop the physical distancing," Alty said when asked what challenges the city has at this point.
"It has been three weeks almost coming up on a month (since the public health emergency began). We have a holiday coming up this weekend and Easter is a great time to get together with friends and family but really making sure people are practicing physical distancing and choosing to have a video or a phone call with friends and family instead of having a physical dinner with them."
This week has seen further efforts by the territorial government to enforce health and safety orders by the chief public health officer with the creation of an NWT Compliance and Enforcement Taskforce to ensure that Kandola's public directives are followed.
Under deputy chief public health officer Conrad Baetz, territorial government officers from across government departments will be assigned "to enforce public health orders and investigate non-compliance across all 33 communities," according to a news release on Wednesday.
This will include working with other organizations across the territory, states the news release.
Alty says the city is in support of these new increased enforcement measures.
"I think it is important because the chief public health officer is making orders that are important to reduce the spread of the virus," she said. "If nobody is enforcing those orders then those orders aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing which is reducing the transmission.
"Without enforcement, the orders don't really have any value, so it was good to see the enforcement team has been set up."
Alty and other councillors have said the community has done well to follow the health and safety orders. Physical distancing practices, for example, have led to businesses adjusting to the threat of the pandemic, as an example.
Still, Alty said an enforcement taskforce is welcome because some public gatherings continue despite the order.
"I still hear of parties happening and I do think it is important for residents to adhere," she said. "I think people have been doing a good job at physical distancing, but you still have those parties. And so if there is an opportunity to have enforcement measures around that, I think that is the one area that Yellowknife and other communities are looking it. Or are concerned about."
Bylaw enforcement
Alty said there may be some confusion as to how the GNWT's enforcement task force will work with other organizations like the RCMP and municipal bylaw. She said the city is open to assisting GNWT enforcement in any way it can, but the differences between municipal enforcement and territorial enforcement will be clear.
"They wouldn't be working with the municipal bylaws," she said. "The task force would be working with territorial orders. We have offered to provide information and best practices on enforcement when it comes to bylaw perspective which may be of value to them.
"But our staff aren't doing any of the territorial enforcement."
NNSL file photo
City councillor Robin Williams raised the issue during Monday's government priorities committee meeting where Senior Administrative Officer Sheila Bassi-Kellett provided an update on the city's overall response to the coronavirus pandemic. Williams had asked if there could be bylaws for social distancing and if there were tools the city could use to enforce social distancing.
By the end of the week, he was said he was happy that the GNWT is taking the lead on enforcing those practices.
"I was pleased to hear that the GNWT has taken leadership on the enforcement of the Public Health Act," Williams stated in an email on Thursday.
"Although Yellowknifers on a whole have been doing a great job of social distancing, it’s nice to have clarity on who is ultimately responsible for enforcement if the situation evolves or escalates. MED already has a full mandate to fulfill and even though they will likely assist in a supporting role, MED isn’t backed by the legislative powers to enforce social distancing and pandemic response."