I was sent this question by a reader. If we can’t allow anyone into our homes, I would imagine the same goes for our vehicles.
With the new restrictions can we still carpool? Was there any mention of travel? Asking as 3 of us from Calgary we’re planning moraine lake this weekend. Taking 3 cars for a total of 12 hours of driving (big environmental impact) and with limited parking seems crazy….
Update: There is a section on carpooling…
The rules state that if you live alone, you can designate two people as part of your cohort.
After a week where it is CLEAR that we should actually be having much more strict rules than the UCP government has decided upon, and not having a province wide mask by-law yet, please be diligent.
Please for 2-3 weeks even be more careful about car pooling. If you listened to CBC last week, a gentleman said he was cautious for 8 months, only to let his guard down ONCE, carpooling with an Asyptomatic friend… unknowingly.
Given we now get to PAY $$ to XC and PAY$$ for track setting, the last thing we need to do is PAY with our mutual health!
Hope everyone who follows SKIER BOB stays healthy and well for the duration of the ski season.
Merry Christmas is coming!
I learned of cases in Canmore starting by 4 people carpooling from Calgary to Canmore. One fellow who was asymptomatic spread it to 1 of the others. The other 2 in the car stayed negative. I don’t have details re: masks, distance in car, etc…but I find people get caught up in the details to justify their own risk tolerance, and lose sight of the big picture that we are in unprecedented times requiring really tough decisions, and sacrifices by all of us on a variety of fronts.
The “2 friend rule” is interesting. If you live alone, you are allowed to not go crazy through lack of social interaction. Not sure that applies to driving together as a none household unless it’s the only two you ever interact with, as if they were a household, and no interaction with anyone else. Solo days aren’t so bad, but I won’t stop skiing.
BTW – The town of Banff has declared a state of local emergency and the Banff, Lake Louise area has the second highest rate of infection in the province. Please stay away!
https://www.rmotoday.com/banff/update-banff-council-considering-limiting-operating-hours-occupancy-for-some-businesses-2911256
The idea is to limit your exposure to other people as much as possible. The virus doesn’t care about climate change or politics and will take every opportunity to spread, regardless of what the rules say. I always ask myself if what I’m about to do will increase my risk of exposure, not “will I get a fine if I get caught”? Like I said, the virus doesn’t care.
I agree with you, but it’s also not just our own risk of exposure that we need to be considering, it’s the risk we put others in, by not limiting contact and travel. Every cohort has another cohort, likely more than one. It’s easy to see how the exponential increase in cases occurs. Our hospitals are at capacity now, and they are juggling to move patients to make more room. As Deena Hinshaw said this morning, we are at the tipping point. Please, let’s not be part of the problem, but rather part of the solution.
Agreed. I guess I’ve come to think of “exposure” as a 2-way street. Another thing to consider when traveling or engaging in physical activity is what happens if you hurt yourself or, god forbid, get into a car crash? You end up in the emergency ward of an already over-stressed hospital. Not to mention that you’re also putting first-responders into situations of potential exposure. Best to find low-risk things to do closer to home for the next little while.
I think the intention of the restrictions are that your Bubble or Cohort are the same two people if you live alone. So not one for skiing then another one for restaurants, etc. I realize it is not that environmentally friendly more safest to have so many people driving, but this is one of the sacrifices we must make or stay over to reduce your times on the road.
Suddenly the environment is no longer a concern. Burn gas and pollute all you want.
…or you could be responsible and make the decision not to drive for 4 hours for a few hours of skiing. Nobody is forcing you do drive anywhere.
The intent of the restrictions is to minimize unnecessary indoor gatherings. If you are not in the same household, taking more than one vehicle is going to be safer, and possibly more enjoyable as you won’t have to wear a mask. As others have said, this is only for three weeks and if we all try and stick to the intention behind the restrictions they might work and be lifted at the end of that period. Trying to bend or stretch them will almost certainly mean that we are faced with more restrictions. In the spring we lost access to the Parks, and obviously we don’t want that again.
The restrictions are currently only for three weeks – winter in the Canadian Rockies lasts months! Please stay home if you cannot adhere to the restrictions, and please don’t try to ‘stretch’ or ‘bend’ the new regulations to suit your immediate desires. The snow will be here all winter.
I believe the cohort/bubble rule has changed with these new restrictions. As of November 24, 2020, close contact must only be with members of the same household. Indoor social gatherings – even among members of the same cohort – are not allowed. It would be logical that” indoor social gatherings” would apply to vehicles as well. Check out Alberta.ca for the newest update on restrictions.
I have 1 friend (other than my husband) who I will share a Vehicle with and thankfully she is my ski buddy. If we stick to the cohort /bubble rule I think we’re fine.
Seems like a good question but we can still travel by public transit, taxi and aircraft, without limits on seating, provided all occupants are masked up. Maybe the same holds here?