The Mayor of Sun Peaks says his resort community hasn’t seen a COVID-19 outbreak to the scale of Whistler or Big White because of ‘good luck and good management’.

“We have to keep the pedal to the metal in terms of vigilance around COVID,” Al Raine said, noting there have been fewer than 20 confirmed cases in Sun Peaks to date. “We have been very, very fortunate so far.”

Speaking on NL Newsday, he says there have been a number of measures taken to keep the COVID-19 situation at Sun Peaks Resort to a minimum.

“We have common signage everywhere in the community, so I think people read the signs and because its common, they start to understand what all of it means,” he said. “We have testing three days a week and the medical teams here have been following up with individuals if they test positive, and I think that’s made a big difference.”

Raine notes every time there has been a case in Sun Peaks – like when Dr. Chip Bantock tested positive – the situation has been managed well by resort staff, village staff, and health officials at Sun Peaks.

But he says these are not the only reasons why Sun Peaks has fared well on the COVID-19 front.

“The corporation normally would have staff accommodation with a number of people living in the same room. They changed their operation and only put one person per room,” he said. “In fact, they took some of their hotel rooms and used them for staff accommodation.”

Ahead of opening day in November, Raine told NL News that all of the provincial health orders would be enforced.

“Our goal is to have everybody come up and enjoy themselves skiing, families have a great time, but we don’t want to see COVID-19 popup here or get into a situation where we would have to close down or introduce much tighter restrictions,” he said.

Raine is urging residents and visitors to Sun Peaks to not let up on these measures in the weeks and months ahead. According to the Sun Peaks Independent News, Raine sent out two letters recently, one to village business owners on Feb. 5 and the other to short-term rental property owners on Feb. 8 that underscored the need to follow the provincial regulations.

“I suspect that we will see much more stringent enforcement around any group arrivals that consist of people who are outside of their usual household,” his Feb. 8 letter read.

B.C. ski resorts stepping up enforcement to keep COVID cases from surging

Ski resorts across British Columbia are stepping up enforcement to keep COVID-19 numbers from continuing to surge in places like Whistler and Big White where they have been major outbreaks this winter.

The head of the Canada West Ski Areas Association, Christopher Nicolson, says it includes cracking down on short-term rentals, shared housing, and social gatherings.

“It’s part of an overall strategy. Does it contain incremental activity in terms of both messaging, as well as helping health authorities, absolutely!” he said. “The increased enforcement that we’ve seen within communities, that’s a benefit, so it’s all part of a community mobilization.”

Among the key concerns raised by Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, were too many apres-ski social gatherings by staff in shared housing and visitors in short-term rentals.

Nicolson says they’ve been working with various levels of government and community stakeholders to keep everyone safe.

“This has been a collaborative effort with – well, especially- Minister [Adrian] Dix, Minister [Melanie] Mark, Minister [Josie Osbourne], mayors, as well as guidance with the PHO, so it’s a collaborative effort already going down the path,” he added.

Documents put together by the Canada West Ski Areas Association shows the industry is worth more than $2-billion to the B.C.’s economy. Nicholson says so much is at stake if the industry is forced to shut down as it would lead to massive layoffs.

Since the beginning of this year – Whistler has seen a whopping 614 cases of COVID-19, most of which have been people in their 20s and 30s who live, work, and socialize together. At Big White meanwhile there have been 235 cases since Dec. 15, according to the latest update on Feb. 5.

– With files from Marcella Bernardo, News1130