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The message is clear: Now is not the time to visit Jasper.
But Jasperites are still seeing tourists and have raised concerns over non-residents stopping in town.
Councillor Rico Damota said in a council meeting this week: 鈥淪ome people are feeling comfortable and travelling to Jasper and it鈥檚 alarming to me the number of people coming here.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know where people are staying but Jasper and Banff are anchor destinations for the province and we need a more effective way to tell people that just because this is a national park, they shouldn鈥檛 be visiting at this time.鈥�
Greg Van Tighem, director of Jasper鈥檚 Emergency Coordination Centre, said the problem doesn鈥檛 seem as bad as the rumours - but his team is monitoring the situation closely.
鈥淩ight now I don鈥檛 think we are seeing it but the potential is there,鈥� said Van Tighem.
鈥淲e are very concerned with that ourselves and looking at ways to address it.鈥�
Bylaw officers are monitoring local traffic, and patrolling residential home accommodations and hotel parking lots, documenting parks passes and licence plates.
And Parks Canada is monitoring outside of townsite, on roads, at trailheads and points of interest.
Van Tighem said a traffic leaderboard discouraging visitors from visiting the townsite has been installed at the east town entrance in the last week at the east entrance to Jasper and three more are being set up.
鈥淲e are increasing our efforts and if it does look like it鈥檚 getting to be a situation we will take stronger measures,鈥� said Van Tighem.
鈥淲e are very concerned about keeping our community safe.鈥�
One thing Van Tighem and his team are looking into is approved accommodation vendors potentially encouraging people to stay. He called it 鈥渁 big concern鈥�.
Mayor Richard Ireland said: 鈥淟eisure travel to Jasper is unwelcome and unwanted. They have to stay somewhere and it seems incongruous that local businesses would accept this intrusion.鈥�
Further concerns over pipeline and construction workers were also raised.
Van Tighem said after talking to TransMountain about how they were planning to keep the community in Jasper safe, he was reassured.
鈥淭hey are committed to the health and wellbeing of the Jasper community and meeting or exceeding all protocols,鈥� said Van Tighem.
There are about 65 pipeline workers in Jasper and they are required to go through medical screening at the beginning of their shift. There is a doctor on site and a local cleaning company disinfects the site daily.
Van Tighem said pipeline workers鈥� families visiting would be jeopardizing employment as if workers are not following protocols they are sent home.
He added that there are a number of contractors and their families in the community who may have been seen in the grocery store and not recognised and thought to be tourists.
