PITT MEADOWS, BC – Effective Tuesday March 17, 2020, the City of Pitt Meadows is closing: City Hall, Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL), Heritage Hall, Pitt Meadows Art Gallery (PMAG), Pitt Meadows Family Recreation Centre (PMFRC), Pitt Meadows Arena, Pitt Meadows Museum and Hoffmann Garage, South Bonson Community Centre (SBCC) and all sports fields to organized groups. The City has also cancelled the Easter, Earth Day as well as all public engagement events as part of proactive measures to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“After informed consideration this past week and in a special meeting of Council and staff earlier today, these closures and cancellations have been made with the best interests, safety and well-being of our residents, the region and our employees,” says Mayor Bill Dingwall. “These are difficult and unprecedented times and we are proud of how our community has come together to support one another.”
Following direction from BC’s Chief Medical Health Officer to avoid any public gatherings of more than 50 people, the City has made the difficult to decision to close City facilities and to cancel events. The intention of these closures and cancellations are to ensure the safety of residents by limiting gatherings where social distancing can’t be controlled.
“We all have an important role to play to help stop the spread of the virus,” says Chief Administrative Officer Mark Roberts. “We are doing our part and asking that everyone follow the advice being provided by health authorities. Council has been informed and endorses our next steps.”
Exceptions:
- To support working families:
- Stardom, Discovery and Love to Learn daycares will continue to operate until further notice.
- At this time Spring Break Camps are still going ahead. Some of the extra measures being put into place are:
- handwashing every hour and before and after snacks and lunch, this will be timed and recorded to ensure each child is washing for the recommended time;
- no shared equipment (i.e. each child will be assigned their own basketball, scissors for crafts, etc.); and
- as much as possible activities will take place outside where there is more space to allow for the recommended social distancing
- City Hall, Fire Hall and the Public Works Yard will still continue to operate but will not be open to the public.
- All registered programs and facility bookings that are cancelled will be issued a credit to the customer’s account. If you would like to request a refund, please email parksandrec@pittmeadows.ca.
- The City’s parks will continue to be open and washroom cleaning has been enhanced.
What is the City Doing
The City is actively monitoring updates from local, provincial and federal health authorities and is committed to taking further action as directed by these agencies to protect the safety of residents.
Updates will be posted on the City’s social media channels and pittmeadows.ca/covid19.
To help prevent the spread of the virus, the following measures have been implemented:
- Increasing the availability of hand sanitizer and increased daily cleaning of high traffic touchpoints in City facilities;
- Reminding staff to take precautions by encouraging staff that are unwell to stay home and by limiting face-to-face meetings, avoiding out-of-country travel;
- Activating the City’s pandemic and business continuity plan to ensure that we can maintain our core services such as water, sewer and fire;
- Activating the City’s Emergency Operations Centre;
- Providing remote access tools for key staff should they need to work from home; and
- Continuing to keep the community informed.
For all health-related concerns, please call 811 or 1-888-COVID-19 (1-888-268-4319) or text 604-630-0300.
For more information and updates please contact the following resources:
- Fraser Health Authority – www.fraserhealth.ca
- BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) – www.bccdc.ca
- Public Health Agency of Canada – www.canada.ca/publichealth
City services will continue to be available online at mypittmeadows.com.
The City will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves including future closures. For the latest information, visit pittmeadows.ca or the City’s social media channels.
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For more information please contact:
Carolyn Baldridge,
Manager of Communications & Community Engagement
City of Pitt Meadows
cbaldridge@pittmeadows.ca