Safety Expo cancelled as precaution

The City continues actively monitoring concerns with the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and out of an abundance of caution is cancelling the Safety Expo event planned for March 11 and 12.

Although all information we have from Alberta Health Services indicates that the risk to Albertans is low, the decision to cancel the annual interactive educational event is based on the large number of grade five and six students that would be attending from across Calgary, including some with compromised immune systems.

The Safety Expo is a community education and prevention program delivered as part of The City’s commitment to public safety, where students learn about safety hazards at home, school and play. Exhibitors typically include a strong presence that includes first responders, like EMS, fire and police personnel.

The City has communicated with all its partners and have alerted attendees to the cancellation.

“The focus of this event is on safety, and our priority is the safety and well-being of our employees and our youth attendees,” said Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) Chief Tom Sampson. “We’re not taking the position that all public events should be canceled, but this event, given the thousands of youth typically in attendance and the amount of first responders who are essential service providers, it just made good sense to rethink.”

The City is actively monitoring the situation and working closely with Alberta Health Services, who are the lead on COVID-19 and we will seek their recommendations as things evolve.

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