ESTEVAN - Estevan city council touched on the latest COVID-19 health measures and their implementation within Estevan during their latest meeting on Monday.
Now that the masks are mandatory in all indoor public places again, councillor Kirsten Walliser asked city manager Jeff Ward to outline the rules applied to the Estevan Leisure Centre, just to ensure citizens are aware of what to expect.
"Rod March (manager of parks and facilities) and his staff are aware of the change of mandate. They have it printed out there for anybody who would like to discuss it with them," Ward said, adding that the leisure centre is a public facility, so everyone entering is expected to wear a mask.
"There are exceptions, I believe, to youth sports and recreational sports," he added.
Ward pointed out that they are asking visitors to respect the provincial mandates currently in effect. The staff has also been instructed to follow the rules and protocols that were announced last week.
Councillor Travis Frank noted that it was nice to see the province making the important decision rather than leaving it up to municipalities.
"I'm just grateful that the province made decisions based on recommendations of health professionals and one of the big reasons is that it was getting very frustrating for a city having to look at this, as we don't (have the needed specialists). Our closest health professional is Councillor Walliser, who we appreciate, but I don't think she wants to be liable for everybody else in the whole city. Not really what she's paid to do. So I think this does definitely fall into the province's jurisdiction, they have the resources to look into this," Frank said.
Councillor Shelly Veroba also pointed out that if users of city facilities run into someone without a mask, they should approach the city staff about the issue rather than confronting the individual.
"When you're using the city-owned facilities, it would be nice if people didn't approach other people. If you see somebody without a mask on, feel free to approach staff or someone in charge to let them know that there might be an issue," Veroba said.
"Just keep in mind, people aren't always aware that someone's exempt … I think you need to trust that the city has that in place, the city will monitor who's using the facility and when. And I just think we should all be kind to each other and give each other just a little bit of leeway right now as we navigate these waters," she added.
Walliser also reminded that while there seems to be a lack of vaccines in pharmacies in Estevan, as they are booking far into October now, walk-in vaccination clinics are coming on Sept. 22 and 23. The clinics will be held from noon to 7 p.m. at public health, attached to St. Joseph's Hospital. It will be on a first come, first served basis. The clinics will offer Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
