More closures as City of Burlington raises Emergency Response level amid COVID-19 pandemic
Published March 16, 2020 at 11:20 am
To protect the public and city staff and to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 virus, the City of Burlington says all city facilities including City Hall will be closed to public access effective
To protect the public and city staff and to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 virus, the City of Burlington says all city facilities including City Hall will be closed to public access effective Monday, March 16 to Sunday, April 5.
While Mayor Meed Ward has not yet declared an official emergency on COVID-19, Burlington’s Crisis Management Team (CMT) has now fully activated the City of Burlington Emergency Response Plan at a Level 2. This decision made Sunday by the CMT, in close consultation with the Mayor, enables a more rapid response to dedicating specific resources to prevention and containment of the virus.
City buildings closed to general public access effective March 16 include:
- City Hall (phone/online/dropbox still available)
- Roads, Parks and Forestry
- Burlington Transit – Transit Operations Centre
- Animal Shelter
- City offices in SIMs Square office building (390 Brant Street)
- 414 Locust Street offices
- Burlington Fire Headquarters and all stations
Essential services including Burlington Fire, Burlington Transit including Handi-Van, Halton Court Services, Traffic Services, By-Law Enforcement, Roads, Parks and Forestry Operations, Animal Control Services and POA Courts will continue to operate as usual. Cemetery services will be by appointment.
“Our first priority is ensuring public health and safety, and the safety of our staff who engage with the public,” said Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.
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“We are looking at options to ensure residents can still be served without physical attendance at City Hall. As a result, we are expecting a higher than usual call volume and we are redeploying staff to assist, but we would ask for your patience and understanding in these times.”
Service Burlington will continue to operate via phone 905-335-7600 and email [email protected] and residents are encouraged to reach out if they have questions. Residents can also access services using the City of Burlington mobile app while a dropbox outside of City Hall is available to drop off documents.
Residents are encouraged to delay any non-essential business or to consider conducting business online or by phone, where possible. Meetings with city staff where appropriate can be set up on a case by case basis and will require a health screening process in keeping with established public health guidelines.
“Our decisions are not taken lightly, as we realize the impact they have on our community, but they are done in an effort to do our part to ‘flatten the curve’ and slow down the spread of COVID-19,” continued Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.
All Burlington Citizen Advisory Committee meetings have been cancelled until April 5, 2020.
The following meetings are cancelled:
March 18 – Agricultural and Rural Affairs Advisory Committee
March 18 – Sustainable Development Advisory Committee
March 23 – Seniors Advisory Committee
March 23 – Committee of Adjustment
March 23 – Integrated Transportation Advisory Committee
March 27 – Inclusivity Advisory Committee
March 31 – Council Workshop
March 31 – Cycling Advisory Committee
April 1 – Mayor’s Millennial Committee
April 1 – Mundialization Committee
City staff says it is reviewing options related to the upcoming March 30 Burlington City Council meeting, as there are “time-sensitive matters that may require council resolution”.
For further information and updates, the City has launched the webpage burlington.ca/coronavirus.
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