COUNTY OF WARNER, ALTA. -- The County of Warner has been hard hit by COVID-19 recently with 41 active cases.
That's a huge uptick in active cases for the small, rural community.
“You know two weeks ago we had no cases,” said Warner County Reeve Randy Thomas.
The mayor of the Village of Warner, asked to set the record straight after a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases in the County of Warner, a region sharing the same name as the village that extends from the communities of Raymond/Stirling all the way down to the U.S. border.
“It’s not in the Village of Warner,” said Mayor Tyler Lindsay.
It is believed, at least partly the source of the outbreak stems from a funeral held for three teenage girls from the Spring Valley Hutterite Colony who drowned in the St. Mary River in June.
“We are working on communication to all colonies in the prairies to ensure heightened surveillance for COVID-19 symptoms and precautions to promote health safety,” said AHS spokesperson Tom MacMillian.
“The emergency coordination centre was set up in accordance with our pandemic response plan,” said Jamie Anderson director of emergency management and safety coordinator for the County of Warner
The county says it's on high alert as it attempts to stop the spread.
“It's quite a concern to the county. The information from Alberta Health says it is being contained and being dealt with,” said Thomas.
The Village of Warner has been receiving calls and social media inquiries with people having questions about COVID in the community.
They did cancel a weekend farmers market due to the outbreak in the region but want the public to know that Warner is safe and still welcoming visitors.
