CALGARY -- While many Calgary bars, restaurants and casinos have already closed in an effort to slow the community spread of COVID-19, the province has now issued an advisory for those business owners.
No organized gathering of more than 50 people can take place in the province until further notice. Restaurants and coffee shops are also restricted to that number, or half of their fire code occupancy, whichever is fewer.
The restriction also applies to ski lifts, houses of worship and weddings - even private parties.
The Concorde Group owns 18 restaurants and bars in Calgary, employing nearly 1,000 people. Tuesday, they issued temporary layoff notices to many staff as they closed the doors on their operations.
“We didn’t come to this decision lightly, but it’s definitely the right thing to do. It’s time for people to stay home,” says vice president Jon Molyneaux.
He says that while the regulations allow them to remain open at a lower capacity, it wasn’t possible to properly protect employees.
“This is a tough one to figure out. It’s unprecedented,” he says.
Premier Jason Kenney promised Tuesday that some form of financial relief is coming for business owners and workers, perhaps as soon as Wednesday.
