March 17 update: The RDKB closed all recreation facilities and offices to public.
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Original story
Recreation facilities operated by the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) remain open for March Break programming, the regional government announced Monday afternoon on its emergency management website. The confirmation comes on the day when the health officer of B.C. announced a provincial ban on all gatherings of 50 people or more, in a bid to stem the propagation of the COVID-19 virus.
“Programming for March Break will proceed unless the situation changes and they must be cancelled or rescheduled,” the site reads, noting that any changes to current status will be announced at emergency.rdkb.com.
RDKB recreation staff in Grand Forks were awaiting further directives as of 4 p.m. on March 16.
But while pools and arenas may be open to the public for now, facilities are reminding customers who are experiencing flu-like symptoms or have traveled outside of Canada within the last 14 days to stay away.
Events organized in RDKB facilities that are expected to surpass the 50-person max imposed by the province will be cancelled until further notice. Likewise, non-essential public meetings and gatherings will be rescheduled. Updates can be found on the RDKB website and social media accounts.
As of March 16, there were two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Interior Health Authority area, which stretches from Princeton in the southwest to the Williams Lake area in the north, and across to the Alberta border.
“We remain ready to respond as needed,” the RDKB announcement reads.
“Since March 10, our Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been activated, as of Mach 16 the activation was changed to a Level 2 response to support the organization in business continuity and risk management planning.”
The RDKB’s emergency levels indicate the amount of resources needed to monitor a given event. Spring freshet conditions currently sit at a Level 1, while the 2018 Boundary floods represented a Level 3, for context.