County of St. Paul conferences with Town of Elk Point, closes county buildings

As of Monday, March 16, there are no presumptive cases of COVID-19 within the boundaries of the County of St. Paul, including the towns of St. Paul, Elk Point, Mallaig, and Ashmont.

Paul Perrier, Director of Safety & Emergency Management for the County of St. Paul, shared the information with Elk Point Town Council at a special meeting held via telephone conferencing on March 16.

According to Perrier, there are currently no plans, as there is no need, to open a local Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for infection management.

Administration in the County of St. Paul and the Town of St. Paul have closed their administration and public works offices to the general public.

Workers inside the offices will only open the doors if arrangements for deliveries or meetings are made in advance.

Many employees are working from home.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) does not have enough resources to provide a presence at an outpost, anyway.

However, this week AHS will be scouting out a centre for infection testing in St. Paul.

They will be looking for a facility with showers, uncarpeted floors, and kitchen facilities so that if testing is required in the future, equipment can be sent out and set up quickly.

Perrier said that local residents are staying calm.

Restaurants are still open and serving diners. He has not heard complaints of price gouging or hoarding.

Perrier reminds the public that workers are not on holidays.

They are still attending to their responsibilities and are doing their best to keep things running in these unusual circumstances.