Edmonton ends the State of Local Emergency

Yesterday, the Emergency Advisory Committee issued a statement on the Termination of a Declaration of a State of Local Emergency for the city of Edmonton. As of June 4th, the State of Local Emergency would lapse at midnight.

In the Edmonton zone, there have been a total of 566 confirmed cases, with 47 remaining active, according to the Government of Alberta. Nine individuals remain hospitalized, and a single case is in intensive care.

From the onset of the pandemic, 13 Edmontonians have died because of COVID-19.

Province-wide, 275,524 total tests have been administered, with 7,091 people testing positive for the respiratory virus.

Ward 3 Councillor Jon Dziadyk, who voted against its renewal consecutively for six weeks, was pleased his fellow councillors followed suit.

“While I have been voting against the continuation of the Local State of Emergency for the past six weeks, I am glad that my colleagues on Council finally heard that the public is ready for a resumption of normal government, with power returning to elected officials.” 

Dziadyk, an advocate of small government, has been critical of handing power over to unelected officials from the onset of the pandemic, noting both elected and unelected officials had to work in tandem to serve the interests of Edmontonians best.

“The decision of Council means that we can move forward on the relaunch of our economy and hopefully begin to discuss the bread and butter of municipal politics, including the ever exciting topic of filling potholes,” says Dziadyk, who took to Facebook yesterday, stating the provincial health emergency remained in effect, as did social distancing rules for the foreseeable future.