Thread by @yaneerbaryam

Open Letter on behalf of the Edmonton Independent Hospitality Community

"We are calling on all levels of government to adopt a Covid Zero plan. This will stop the cycle of bleed & bandage, and focus on a long term solution for real economic recovery.

#ZeroCovid #CovidZero
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https://twitter.com/YEGIHC/status/1357756818273959937

"Our goal is and always has been for hospitality operators to get back to a point where we can meaningfully contribute to rebuilding the economy.

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"Adopting a Covid Zero strategy has worked to drastically reduce and in some cases eliminate Covid in other jurisdictions such as South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia and even here in the Atlantic provinces of Canada.

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"With the arrival and spread of the B117 variant in Alberta, we ned leadership to show courage by taking the necessary steps to get the virus under control and out of our communities once and for all.

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"The longer we try to operate under the falsehood that we are saving livelihoods and lives we will lose more lives, more businesses and more livelihoods.

"The platitudes ring especially hollow for the hospitality industry.

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"The Alberta Government has severely impeded our ability to generate meaningful revenue to sustain our businesses with ill thought out public health orders instead of taking comprehensive action to support business closures and other Covid suppression measures.

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"With eight more months to go before we hit our target of everyone who wants a vaccine in Canada getting one, we need action on Covid Zero now. We have seen that a Covid zero strategy can work to suppress the virus and drive economic recovery.

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"We are appealing to all levels of government to exercise extraordinary measures to stop this current cycle of half measures and have the courage to go for zero. Let’s finally suppress Covid in our communities so we can move ahead ..for business, economy and public health.

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"What we are asking for effective immediately is:

-Implementation of a Covid Zero Plan
-Federal rend and wage subsidy programs to continue for the entirely fo this crisis
-Provincial government top up funding for fixed expenses for the entirely of the crisis.

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-Commercial eviction ban reinstated
-Collect and release to the public, hospitality job specific data about Covid-19 infections

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"The lack of meaningful government intervention to curb the spread of COVID-19 including appropriate support to help businesses remain closed has prolonged this crisis and destroyed many lives and livelihoods.

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