Hwy 3 sign in the Crowsnest Pass near the B.C.-Alberta border. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Group calls for closure of B.C.-Alberta border to limit spread of COVID-19

Apr 6, 2020 | 10:48 AM

CRANBROOK, B.C. – The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) is calling on B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer to take stronger measures to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“As a region, we are united in our desire to reduce the impacts of this virus on our health care system and our communities,” says RDEK Board Chair Rob Gay. “While the Provincial Health Officers on both sides of the border have been clear in their messaging that people need to be staying home, that message is not being heeded. We are gravely concerned about the potential impacts on our small rural hospitals, front line workers and communities.”

The RDEK is a regional government that includes municipalities across the East Kootenay district in southeastern B.C.

The Board is asking for the provincial border to be closed to non-essential traffic, as well as the closure of private campgrounds and the backcountry to overnight camping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are urging all non-resident property owners in our region to please stay in their primary homes. There should be absolutely no travelling back and forth,” says Gay. “In addition, we are seeing groups of campers in the backcountry, groups of mud boggers in the Koocanusa area, several families staying together in vacation homes, and more.”

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“We want to be very clear that this is not a province to province issue. This is also about behaviours locally within our region.”

The Easter long weekend typically sees thousands of recreationists and second-home owners coming to the East Kootenay.

Many locals in the region are concerned that emergency services, the healthcare system, grocery stores, and other essential service providers are not properly equipped to handle a large influx of tourists at this time and under these circumstances.

Gay says East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook, which is the largest healthcare facility in the region, has only 11 ventilators. Many health centres in their smaller communities only have one.

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