Some Albertans kicking back on health guidelines

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — With retail and restaurants seeing more and more business, some Albertans seem to be willing to let restrictions slide.

“We had to bring in a bouncer to our restaurant, because people wouldn’t stay at their own tables, would walk to the bathroom without a mask on, that kind of stuff,” said Julia Peart who is a server in Calgary who also has had COVID-19.

Peart didn’t want to name her employer. She’s now healthy and back at work, where she says people are ignoring guidelines all the time, and it’s difficult to enforce them.

“There’s a lot of women that I work with, so trying to enforce that sometimes can be really difficult, and people can be really crabby and obviously everybody has their own opinion, it’s just you get locked into conversations you don’t want to,” said Peart.

Across the province, Albertans were eager to get out of the house this past weekend. West Edmonton Mall had to close its doors on Saturday and Sunday as it reached capacity.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeting her own reminder on capacity limits.

Please remember that we must all adhere to store capacity limits & only dine-in w/our household or designated contacts. Ordering online, take-out & curbside pick up are also great options that will help keep you, your loved ones & your community safe. https://t.co/jZFSkT8UR0

— Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health (@CMOH_Alberta) March 7, 2021

While you may be eager to head out to do some shopping or eat at a local restaurant – it’s worth remembering that even though these businesses are open – there are still restrictions in place.

The Alberta Hospitality Association says their members tell them the majority of Albertans have been good about following guidelines.

“Fridays and Saturdays we have some extra security on-site,” said Ernie Tsu with Trolley 5. “For sure here at Trolley 5, and I know other restaurants have brought in extra hosts, or hostesses, or a manager to work the front door to ensure that restrictions are being met.”

But Tsu says everyone is happy to see the city start to come back to life – even at a  limited capacity.

READ MORE: Alberta to move fully into Stage 2 of reopening plan

Experts say that while getting outside, leaving your house, being hopeful about the future is all good, we’re not out of the woods yet – especially when we’re so close to the finish line.

“Right now’s the time to really hold that line, double down, keep the community level cases low, and if we do that we’ll be able to keep hospitalizations down, ICU numbers down, and really stop the loss of life here in Alberta,” said Infectious Disease specialist Dr. Craig Jenne.

Meanwhile, for Peart, she says her work has gotten better since hiring extra security. But she hopes people start taking restrictions more seriously.

“If we just jump at it too quickly, it’s just going to stay the same way for a long time, and we’re just going to have to keep repeating the same cycle.”