Mayor says any second-home owners coming to community should take serious precautions
As you probably heard, the province has extended its orders limiting social interactions until Jan. 8, 2021, meaning Sun Peaks is going to look and feel a lot different this holiday season.
First announced in November, the measures include restrictions designed to cut down on social interactions. Residents are able to socialize only with people in their own household, save for people who live alone, who can visit for one or two people.
The province is also recommending against non-essential travel, a move that will have major repercussions for Sun Peaks and other resort communities.
On its website, the province explicitly recommends against travel for vacation.
Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality (SPMRM) Mayor Al Raine said the initial travel restriction recommendation announced last month kicked off a wave of cancellations, and he expects more to follow.
“The vast majority of people are listening and taking the recommendations seriously,” he said.
Raine said while he is hopeful most visitors will follow the recommendations, his interpretation of the rules and regulations is that homeowners can come, provided that they take adequate precautions to keep the community safe.
“They could come, but they should probably buy their supplies and everything they need at home, travel to Sun Peaks, [and] self-isolate as much as possible,” said Raine.
Raine added that looking around at what’s happening in other resorts is a bit scary of late, with Whistler, B.C., and Banff, Alta., seeing high caseloads of COVID-19 in recent weeks. Raine said he has been impressed with the way the community members and Sun Peaks Resort LLP (SPR) are responding to the pandemic.
“I think one of the good things is that the businesses and (SPR) are all using the same kind of information sheets and information notice boards, which I think helps drive the message home,” said Raine.
Raine added that he and his wife Nancy Greene Raine are still skiing and feel safe, but are taking added precautions, such as avoiding using on-mountain facilities.
Canada Ski West Area Association CEO Christopher Nicolson said at this point, the ski industry is focussed on what it can control, which is to create a safe ski-experience for skiers and snowboarders.
“It puts strain on the industry, which isn’t a surprise, but we’re fully supportive of the Health Authority and the decisions it has made,” said Nicolson.
Nicolson said resorts gleaned a lot of best practices from those operating in New Zealand and Australia, some of which were able to operate throughout their winter season with precautions in place.
Nicolson added that guests have been very respectful of the new rules that are in place.
“From an industry perspective, we certainly appreciate the fact that people have been respectful with the protocols that have been put in place,” he said.
Nicolson encouraged skiers to check out the Ski Well, Be Well website. It was developed by the National Ski Areas Association as a way to share best practices protocol for individual skiers and resorts. Nicolson also advised checking the websites of individual resorts to see if they have specific requirements in place.
While B.C. ski resorts are open and the province hasn’t indicated they may be shut down, this isn’t the case abroad.
There has been much consternation in Europe regarding whether or not ski resorts should remain open, with France, Germany and Italy choosing to shut theirs down as a way to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The German government is pressuring all resorts on the continent to close over the holiday season; Austrian resorts are open to locals and Swiss resorts are open to anyone.
In her Dec. 10 news conference, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said while British Columbians can “take some heart” in the fact that the province will receive the first of its vaccines next week, residents need to buckle down in order to get through this difficult period.
“We are not yet through this storm,” she said. “Staying small, saves lives. Staying close to home, saves lives.”
The province currently has 9,315 active cases. A total of 352 people are in hospital, with 74 people in intensive care. The death toll stands at 543.
SPIN will bring more on this story and its impact on Sun Peaks going forward.
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