COVID-19: City of Hamilton activates emergency operations centre though risk remains low
Published March 13, 2020 at 12:53 pm
The City of Hamilton says they will move to Level II in its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Friday (March 13) morning in its response to COVID-19.
The City of Hamilton says they will move to Level II in its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Friday (March 13) morning in its response to COVID-19.
The City said in a press release announcing their response that while Public Health maintains that the risk of infection is low for Hamilton residents, this latest development is an effort to better protect city staff, and their families and public from exposure to the virus.
“The activation of our EOC this week builds on the hard work of our Public Health staff over the last couple of months, and helps ensure that the City continues to be responsive to the COVID-19 situation,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger in the release.
“With cases of COVID-19 starting to increase locally, and with [the] announcement regarding school closures over the next few weeks, the City’s activation is timely.”
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There are currently three confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the area. One Hamilton resident, a 52-year-old man, and two Halton residents tested positive for the virus earlier this week.
Several Hamilton Health Sciences staff and physicians are also in self-isolation after they have been in contact with one of the confirmed cases.
The role of the City’s EOC is to co-ordinate a response to any type of emergency. The EOC provides support and resources to the emergency and ensures business continuity for City services, the press release says.
Staff appointed to the EOC regularly train in preparation for large-scale emergencies using mock scenarios. In recent years, these exercises have included incidents of mass casualties, active shooters, cyber-attacks, and natural disasters.
In addition to activating its EOC, the City implemented the following cancellations related to the activity of its 8,000 employees:
All in-person, non-essential training attended or hosted by City staff between now and April 30, 2020 is cancelled.
All in-person staff attendance at conferences or professional development activities between now and April 30, 2020 is cancelled.
All City-hosted conferences or professional development activities between now and April 30, 2020 are cancelled.
The City is also expected to provide information on school closures sometime on Friday as well as further developments regarding City-hosted public meetings, events and gatherings.
“We will continue to monitor and respond to this rapidly evolving situation to ensure we are providing the best support possible to the community as we work together to find our way through this challenging situation,” Eisenberger said.
The City plans to hold a press conference at midday to provide further information.
For updates on Hamilton’s response to COVID-19, visit the city’s website.
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