COCHRANE— March 15 marked the anniversary of Alberta entering full lockdowns to help combat the spread of COVID-19.
The month was filled with extreme changes to daily life, frightening uncertainty and unprecedented health measures all brought on by the global health crisis.
COVID-19 was first identified in Alberta on March 5 and was later declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11. That same day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government would be spending $1 billion to help provinces with COVID-19.
On March 15 all school classes and daycares were closed across the province to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney declared a state of public emergency on March 17.
It is incredible looking back on March 15 a day when the Town shut down all facilities to combat the spread of COVID-19, said Mayor Jeff Genung.
“It almost feels like we lost a year of our term, a year of your life or a year at your business,” Genung said.
He is proud of how Cochrane has managed the pandemic and the steps the Town and community have taken to provide support and kindness during a time of great uncertainty.
The most challenging aspect of these changes was the apprehension the community faced and the unknown of how long lockdowns would last or when life would be able to return to normal.
“We were all told it was a marathon, not a sprint, but I don’t think anyone thought it was going to be an ultra-marathon,” Genung said.
The year has served as an opportunity to learn about navigating the pandemic and its associated health measures, but at the time when the pandemic first came to Cochrane, it was an overload of new and often negative life-changing information.
The Town felt the challenges of adapting to the unknown and seeking to understand how COVID-19 would affect the local economy— Be it if people could afford to pay taxes, how long shutdowns would last, how many people would lose jobs and what provincial and federal government supports would be available.
‘“We had to literally go into crisis management,” Genung said. “It was difficult.”
The Town is still in a mode of ensuring staff can continue working, including having separate cohorts in departments to keep essential services flowing.
It has been amazing to see people rise to the challenge of COVID-19 to support the community and the stories he heard were inspirational.
Genung said Cochranites have done well in helping prevent the spread of the virus, with numbers remaining relatively low aside from a recent spike.
“We didn’t have massive outbreaks here like in other communities,” Genung said. “Given the proximity to the city, it’s been amazing.”
One of the most controversial and difficult tasks council faced was the introduction of a mandatory face-covering bylaw in Cochrane in July.
“That is still a tough one I still get emails every day that think we shouldn’t be wading into public health,” Genung said. “That was probably the most difficult decision we had to make as a council over the past year— The province maybe could have stepped in and handled that on their own a little earlier.”
He was pleased a provincial mask mandate was introduced in late November.
While the pandemic has not come to an end, Genung said, there is a feeling that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the community.
Genung said he hopes to treat the first anniversary of COVID-19 as a time of hope.
Speaking personally, Genung said, it has been inspiring to see people leave the RancheHouse, an Alberta Health Services COVID-19 immunization site, after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine with visible hope and happiness.
“I’ve stopped and talked to a few seniors and they’re all just so ecstatic,” Genung said. “There’s just an optimism about.”
Echoing Genung's sentiments, Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie said the time of uncertainty is beginning to pass and Albertans can begin looking to the future with optimism.
Guthrie was at the provincial legislature when the state of emergency was declared. He said at the time there was an overarching sense of uncertainty as to how COVID-19 would affect Alberta.
“I don’t think that there was anybody who expected it to go as long as it has— It speaks volumes about how well people here take care of each other,” Guthrie said. “There is a bit of fatigue that has set in all around.”
A lot has changed over the course of the year and it is exciting to see the potential tail end of the pandemic.
“We’ve learned a tremendous amount since then,” Guthrie said. “I’m really excited for the future and to get back to what we sent out to do here in the UCP.”
Tied into the end of the virus is a goal of reinvigorating the economy and getting people back to work, Guthrie said.
Residents in Airdrie and Cochrane want to see the province reopen safely, he said, and the province is trying to make informed and careful measures to make that a reality.
The economic impact of COVID-19 has been devastating, but Guthrie remains optimistic about the province's future.
Going forward from the May long weekend and beyond, Guthrie said, COVID-19 will likely be a “thing of the past” largely in part to the ramp of vaccine distribution in Alberta which will increase in April.
He added oil and gas prices remain strong and Alberta's low corporate taxes will create the conditions for a strong recovery from the pandemic.
“The conditions are there for Alberta to have a very strong recovery,” Guthrie said. “There have been several banks that have stated that Alberta will lead in job growth, lead in GDP growth and that provides a lot of optimism for Q3 and Q4 of this year, as well as 2022.”
