Yesterday, on September 15th, 2021, a Province wide Public Health Emergency was declared by the Alberta government. Additional restrictions are in place as of today (September 16th).
Yamnuska has been following Public Health’s directions closely and adapting them to our situation and all of our protection for the past year and a half. While the government restrictions were mainly lifted not long ago, we decided to maintain many of the practices that we had in place for an extended period given the uncertainty. We have successfully operated throughout the Pandemic and are fortunate that the majority of our programming takes place outside where the risk of transmission has been found to be low.
Here is what you should know about the new restrictions and your time with us. Many of these are not changes to our practices but reminders for what we have in place already:
- Wearing a mask is required by all office staff, guides and guests while in the office. Mask use is not required for children under the age of 2 or for those exempt as per AB regulations. Signs are up at the main entrances as well as other visible areas in the office as reminders. We will be asking you to minimize your time in the office and will get you into the mountains as soon as possible.
- Isolation requirements have not changed for people who have COVID symptoms or have tested positive for COVID. While it is no longer legally required for close contacts of positive cases to isolate, we are asking guests who are in this position to discuss this with us. Please contact the office for support.
- Travelling in vehicles with other guests or guides requires use of masks by everyone in the vehicle as mandated by AB Health.
- Restrictions to outdoor activities have not been changed. They are still deemed as relatively low risk but we ask that you work with your guide and other guests in close contact areas.
- Overnight tenting will continue to be in separate tents unless the guests are in a family pod or cohort or feel comfortable sharing with other guests. The decision of tent sharing will happen when the guests arrive and have the discussion with the guide and other participants. Sharing tents if chosen by non-cohort or family groups is only recommended with fully vaccinated guests.
- Food will continue to be packed out with our already high standards. As always, hands should be cleaned and sanitized before any food handling.
- We continue to adapt our booking policies to allow guests more flexibility and peace of mind. We will extend our current policies until April 30, 2022. These policies can be viewed Cancellation and Refund Policies.
Over the next few days, we will be exploring the option of implementing a Restrictions Exemption Program as outlined by the new restrictions and recommendations released by the Alberta government. We will keep you informed on this front.
We are grateful for your continued support. The constant push and pull of restrictions has been difficult on us all but we recognize and appreciate the trust that you have put in us to deliver programs in a low-risk way.
As always, we are looking forward to having you join us! Please contact us at any time should you have any questions at (403) 678-4164.
Jesse de Montigny Managing Director
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