With the threat of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is closing the doors to town facilites to mitigate risks to employees and the public.
The town announced Friday that, keeping in line with measures being taken by the province, it will be closing the Meridian Credit Union and Centennial arenas in Virgil, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Queenston libraries and the community centre effective midnight.
The chamber of commerce said it will remain open, with new restrictions in place, such as no longer accepting cash, sanitizing debit/credit card terminals before and after each use and keeping the doors left propped open. Furthermore personal coffee mugs will no longer be accepted and a chamber staff will now be adding milk and sugar and stirring and closing lids.
“Please note that we have enhanced our already careful sanitizing and cleaning measures and are implementing them repeatedly. We ask that all customers accept these special requests and we welcome further recommendations you may have to help keep you and our space safe. Additionally, we ask that everyone remain mindful of keeping a distance from one another, and should you feel any symptoms, please stay home and rest,” said a chamber notice on Friday.
The Niagara-on-the-Lake Library has also closed its doors until April 6, with all programming, including March Break camp, Niagara Nursery services, library programming, public skates and hockey games/tournaments to be rescheduled. Museum staff will arrange reimbursements for cancellations of any previous bookings, said a news release Saturday morning.
The town said members of the Emergency Operation Centre have been actively meeting and have developed a business continuity plan to ensure that residents continue to receive essential services.
“In the meantime, we ask that you do your part by remaining calm, by practicing social distancing, by continuing to adhere to prevention techniques outlined by Niagara Region Public Health and by not overloading hospital and health facilities,” said a town release Friday.
The town is reminding residents that even though one case has now been confirmed in Niagara, the risk to residents remains low. Anyone who believes they have any symptoms of COVID-19 is asked to first phone Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000.
The town municipal offices are still open, but the town urges residents residents to stay home unless if the matter isn’t urgent.
“There are many ways we can serve you online – if you don’t absolutely need to come into the town administrative office, please don’t. Call first between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 905-468-3266 or take advantage of our online service requests at notl.com. Additional informative resources can be found at notl.com/COVID-19.”