The City of North Battleford announced a number of temporary facility closures in response to COVID-19. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

COVID-19 closures, planning

City announces facility closures due to COVID-19

Mar 17, 2020 | 12:46 PM

The City of North Battleford announced a number of facility closures in response to COVID-19 to take effect Wednesday.

The city said in a release it is operating under its Pandemic Plan to ensure the priority services continue and to help limit the spread of COVID-19 in the Battlefords. These precautions will take effect March 18 and will be in place indefinitely.

The following facilities will be closed: the Battlefords CO-OP Aquatic Centre, NationsWEST Field House, the Allen Sapp Gallery – The Gonor Collection, Chapel Gallery, the Civic Centre Arena and the Don Ross Arena.

“The city saw that we had a role in discouraging communication of the virus into the community,” Mayor Ryan Bater said. “The concern right now and the messaging from other orders of government is quite clear, that Canadians are to distance themselves socially in order to discourage the virus from traveling from person to person.”

The mayor said when the province announced schools would be closing, the city chose to close its recreation facilities to avoid people congregating there.

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“We do not want to be a catalyst for this virus to travel from person to person,” Bater added of the need to take this measure.

The city also announced its programming and drop-in classes run by Leisure Services will be postponed during these closures. Passes and memberships will be extended for the length of time of the closures. Private bookings may proceed if they do not exceed 200 people. These private bookings must not have speakers or attendees who have travelled internationally in the last 14 days.

During this time there will be no public access to the North Battleford Fire Hall, Water Treatment Plant and the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Waste Management Facility will remain open to the public.

Bater said in a statement as a community everyone can play a role in reducing exposure and the spread of COVID-19 by practicing proper cough and sneezing etiquette – by coughing into the bend of their elbow, washing their hands often with soap and water for a recommended 20-seconds, avoiding touching their eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, and practicing social distancing.

To help limit the spread of COVID-19 the city is asking people to limit their access to City Hall by conducting phone meetings and paying bills online. Online payments can be accessed by going to the City of North Battleford’s website and clicking on “make payment,” in the top right corner. Heavy-haul permits, parking fines, taxes, utility bills, accounts receivables and, soon-to-be-available, criminal record checks can be purchased online.

The city is advising people to “avoid misinformation, rumours and bad information” by accessing the most accurate and up-to-date information from the province’s website about the COVID-19 virus.

“I want to acknowledge that as a community we’re all in this together,” Bater told battlefordsNOW. “We all have a part to play. This is impacting a lot of families, especially the closure of schools as parents have to make plans for child care. This will also have a very dramatic impact on local business. I strongly encourage people to order take-out from restaurants if they can, and to support local businesses as much as they can, and to support your neighbours and people who may need help in order to get through this. If we come together as a community then we’ll be stronger.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW