'Not out of the woods yet:' City of Calgary renews state of local emergency

City of Calgary to continue restrictions The state of local emergency will continue, the city said Tuesday. Jordan Kanygin reports.

CALGARY — The City of Calgary has renewed its state of local emergency to support the ongoing pandemic response, Mayor Naheed Nenshi announced Tuesday morning.

The renewal allows the city to maintain a wide range of powers within the municipal boundaries, which helps the city remain responsive to Calgarians' emerging needs.

"Since the last time we were standing here together in the emergency operation centre we have lost 313 of our neighbours to this terrible virus, that’s more than double the number of people we have lost since the last time I stood at this podium," saidNenshi.

The state of local emergency was put in effect on Nov. 25, 2020.

For the next 90 days, Calgary will stay in emergency standing, which the mayor says will allow the city to do a better job with vaccine distribution.

"With vaccines here and many more on the horizon, it is critical that the city maintains our agility to act as quickly as we can to provide space, to provide facilities, provide personal, for the provincial government's vaccination efforts," he said.

Officials sayCOVID-19 case counts are similar to where they were in late October and they are unsure how variant strains will impact the city's case counts.

"The City of Calgary local geographic areas are still high in many different locations around the city," said Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) Chief Sue Henry.

The city also announced it would reopen more recreation facilities on Thursday for one-on-one training and minor sports group training activities. Games and league play continue to be prohibited.