COCHRANE— The Town of Cochrane Council is working collaboratively with other agencies to plan for and adapt practices for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The weekly COVID-19 update was addressed by Chief administrative officer (CAO) Drew Hyndman during this week's council meeting on Tuesday (April 14).
Mayor Jeff Genung began the town meeting by remarking it was good to be back in chambers, even if it was virtual. The town has been focused on its COVID-19 response and he said getting back into a routine is important because the community of Cochrane is looking for regularity.
Hyndman noted there are 13 cases of COVID-19 in the Cochrane-Springbank area. Nine have recovered and four are currently active.
Through the Emergency Coordination Centre the town of Cochrane identified four priorities which were also aligned with Alberta Health Services priorities— flattening the curve, avoid overwhelming the healthcare system, keep critical systems and people working and communication. Hyndman said they have recently added a fifth— plan for the future.
"Based on some of the discussions we've had with the province, obviously we are looking to the future and want to plan for the future," he said.
During the pandemic, communication has been critical to reaching objectives explained Hyndman. He said the town is doing its best to keep the community informed on certain measures that can be taken to flatten the curve. Continuing communication within the business community is also vital in providing support he said.
Hyndman gave a shout out to the Town's communications department explaining through its ongoing regular posts to the Town's social media, weekly Facebook live video updates by himself and the Mayor, website content and frequently asked questions, these are all resources that the public can turn to in keeping themselves informed during COVID-19.
"Our efforts are to ensure that people in our community are provided information through a number of different sources," said Hyndman. "We understand that everybody isn't using social media or perhaps aren't Facebook users, but certainly we want to get the message out."
The two digital signs the Town fosters are also back in operation and will be utilized to get messages out to the community. There have also been public health emergency signage placed in various locations throughout Town.
Cochrane's seniors are not being forgotten during COVID-19 and the Mayor has reached out to multiple facilities to provide them with support and updates.
"We understand that they're under real difficult circumstances," said Genung. "We all have our own restrictions and guidelines that we're living within but the long term care facilities and seniors homes obviously have different restrictions - for good reason - but it's also putting a great deal of stress on those individuals."
The Town has closed the fire pits at the Historic Ranche due to a number of groups using them and failing to adhere to the physical distancing measures set in place. Fencing has also been placed around the skate park after signage and tape was removed.
The Mayor and Hyndman also took part in a weekly call with the province which included Premier Jason Kenney and Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw. These calls provide insight into what other municipalities are dealing with said Hyndman. He added that they will continue to look to council for questions as well as people in the community to take those forward on behalf of Cochrane.
Genung said he is keeping the lines of communication open between other mid-sized city mayors by participating in regular calls. Hyndman is also taking part in these speaking to other CAOs and Town managers.
"We continue to reach out whether it's HR, legislative services or any of our other departments to their various network of other local government officials to ensure that we are providing a proactive response to ensure business and operational continuity as we try and deal with this pandemic," said Hyndman.
