Delta council and staff have agreed that additional COVID-19 safety measures need to be taken in the city’s recreation facilities, starting immediately with an adjusted mask mandate.
Following their special meeting of council Thursday afternoon council decided that, effective Oct. 15, face coverings will be required for all patrons five years and older in indoor public spaces and, effective Oct. 24, proof of double vaccination will be required for those 12 years and older.
The double vaccination requirement’s timeline matches with the latest orders from the Provincial Health Officer (PHO), however, the City of Delta will be adding more activities to the existing list, including those taking place in swimming pools, skating rinks and for indoor recreational sports for those 21 and younger.
“Given the mixed-use of most of Delta’s recreational facilities where, currently, proof of vaccination is required for some activities, but not all, it is recommended to apply a consistent requirement for proof of vaccination for all admissions for patrons 12 years and older,” reads the report by staff.
Essential activities, like using the washroom, purchasing food or accessing government services will continue to not require proof of double vaccination, and this vaccination mandate will instead cover off activities where facility admission or registration fees apply.
The new mask mandate in Delta will be consistent with the current order in place for schools, and because Delta offers programs for school-aged children, council and staff agreed that they would follow that guidance instead of the PHO order requiring masks for children aged nine and older.
During the special meeting of council on Oct. 14, Coun. Dan Copeland asked about supports in place for those enforcing vaccine or mask mandates – including parents of user groups – if somebody was to ignore these requirements and walk in anyways.
“Our staff would come and support, when available, but we don’t expect our staff to get into confrontations with people. We’ve been very clear to them that we’re certainly not there to wrestle someone out the door ... We are not asking parents or volunteers or anyone to be a security guard or the police,” said City Manager Sean McGill.
If situations do get “out of control”, the police are to be called, he said.
Coun. Jeannie Kanakos extended her thanks to parents and coaches for working so hard to keep their sports running in a safe way and acknowledged how awkward it can be to turn unvaccinated spectators away.
The City of Delta will be communicating the changing vaccine requirements to the public through reader boards, social media and facility signage.
In cases where someone is not able to get vaccinated for health reasons, the only way their proof of vaccination requirement will be waived at Delta recreation facilities is to provide the appropriate documentation from the PHO application process.
Kanakos’ also expressed concerns about spaces like saunas, steam rooms and hot tubs.
Delta staff will be looking into her concerns and reporting back on how these spaces could and should be regulated.
