City of Calgary declares state of local emergency over COVID-19

Calgary declares state of emergency over COVID-19 The City of Calgary has declared a local state of emergency over COVID-19 concerns. Mark Villani reports.

Calgary — The City of Calgary has announced a state of local emergency due to COVID-19.

All city owned and operated fitness facilities and pools will be closed as of midnight. The Calgary Public Library has also been ordered to close.

The Calgary Zoo announced Monday it is closing indefinitely.

The city also asked businesses in Calgary to limit their occupancy to 50 per cent of their capacity as determined by the fire department, or 250 people, whichever is lower.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi urged all businesses to allow workers to work from home whenever possible.

The City of Calgary will also make is possible for residents to address council by phone during council meetings this week, which is a first for the city.

Calgary expects to have 3,500 city employees working from home by Monday, with the number growing throughout the week.

He also asked Calgarians to stock up, but not to stockpile, and to take this time to reconnect with their families, and spend time outdoors if they are not quarantined.

It comes after Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced all K-12 and post-secondary classes would be cancelled and daycares temporarily closed until further notice.

The number of cases in the province jumped to 56 on Sunday, the single-largest day-over-day increase since the virus was first detected.