Crowsnest Pass -- Photo Credit to Ron Garnett Aircapes.ca

By Connor Gunn

Some smaller communities across Southern Alberta remain free of COVID-19 cases

Jun 24, 2020 | 2:14 PM

CROWSNEST PASS, AB– How have some small towns and municipalities across Alberta remain free of COVID-19 cases?

When you look at communities like Crowsnest Pass or ones in the County of Warner, they have not had a single COVID-19 case.

How are they doing it?

With Crowsnest Pass placed right on Highway 3 and fairly close to the British Columbia border, the traffic in that area has been very high according to Mayor Blair Painter.

“There’s a lot of Alberta plates in our parking lots and there’s a lot of B.C. plates in our parking lots, and the same goes for the B.C. side. I’m hearing there’s a lot of Alberta plates on the B.C. side.”

Week-in-review: Federal Budget, water agreements and success for tourism industry

Apr 20, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: April 19, 2024

Apr 19, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: April 15, 2024

Apr 15, 2024

Painter says that he’s been seeing more and more travellers coming through Crowsnest Pass which still brings the question of how the town has been free of COVID-19 infections.

Painter also says the people in the town have been very smart when handling the pandemic.

“I’m really proud of them for staying home, it’s not easy, it’s been very difficult. I have been able to talk to people that have been holed up in their house and they’re just thankful that they can get out and have a little bit of freedom.”

It’s the same story in the County of Warner which is made up of towns such as Milk River, Raymond, Coutts, Stirling, Warner, New Dayton, and Wrentham.

Each of the towns in the County of Warner have remained free of COVID-19 infections too, so what have they been doing to limit traffic and the spread of the virus?

Warner County Reeve Randy Taylor says the sparse population plays a factor.

“We just don’t have people close to each other like cities, I think that’s the number one reason why we’ve been case free.”

Taylor added that community members have been listening to health protocols because of having a high old-aged population.

The same can be said for Crowsnest Pass, having an older population can certainly strike fear into the members of each of the communities.

Taylor and Painter believe the cancelling of all planned events contributes to their success.

Painter and Taylor are asking members of their communities to remain safe and limit travel within the towns.