Don Darling, the mayor of Saint John, speaks at a news conference on March 17, 2020. (Photo Brad Perry)
The City of Saint John will only be offering essential services going forward amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
It follows recommendations by New Brunswick’s top doctor to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
City Hall and all other municipal facilities are closed as of end-of-day Tuesday and non-essential staff are being told to stay home.
City manager John Collin said public safety and other essential services will continue, including drinking water and wastewater treatment services, emergency public works, emergency building inspection and permitting, road clearing and public communications.
Collin said select services deemed “highly desirable” will also continue for the time being.
“Transit services, our solid waste management, and our City Market, but only on a volunteer basis in that vendors will get to choose whether they remain open or not,” he said.
#SaintJohn City Hall and all other municipal facilities will close at the end of the day today and the city will begin transitioning to an “essential services” model. pic.twitter.com/9BEzAxtcpd
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) March 17, 2020
The Saint John Emergency Management Organization is now at Level 2, or partial activation, to coordinate and operate the municipal response.
Fire chief Kevin Clifford, who has been appointed the incident commander, said they are prepared to go to full activation if needed.
“It’s important to know that emergency services are fully functional and we have developed contingency plans for operating at reduced levels if indeed it is required,” said Clifford.
Mayor Don Darling said the more precautions they take now, the easier this pandemic will be on the city.
“This is unprecedented territory for us as a city, but we know that we have the support, people, plans and resources in place to be successful,” said Darling.
The city has launched a coronavirus webpage on its website where people can find the latest information.
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