City of Burlington Closes all City Facilities to Public Access Effective March 16 to April 5

COVID-19
Written By

*Please see a media release below issued by the City of Burlington.Burlington, Ont. — March 15, 2020 — To protect the public and City staff and to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 virus, all City facilities including City Hall will be closed to public access effective Monday, March 16 to Sunday, April 5.While Burlington Mayor Marianne 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 today 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/drop box 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 to support our community.  Cemetery services will be by appointment.Service Burlington will continue to operate via phone 905-335-7600 and email city@burlington.ca and we encourage residents to reach out if they have questions. Residents can also access services using the City of Burlington mobile app.  A drop box 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 setup on a case-by-case basis and will require a health screening process in keeping with established public health guidelines.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 are reviewing options related to the upcoming March 30 Burlington City Council meeting, as there are time-sensitive matters that may require Council resolution. The City of Burlington is looking into how the meeting may be conducted and will be provide an update closer to the meeting date.For further information and updates, the City has launched the webpage burlington.ca/coronavirus.QUICK FACTS:

  • Contact Halton Region Public Health by calling 311, 905-825-6000 or toll free at 1-866-442-5866 if you have a fever OR cough OR breathing difficulty AND any of the following:
  • travelled outside of Canada in the 14 days before onset of illness; or
  • close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19; or
  • close contact with a person with acute respiratory illness who travelled to affected areas within 14 days prior to their illness onset.

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

MAYOR MEED WARD'S TAKE:Our first priority is ensuring public health and safety, and the safety of our staff who engage with the public. 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.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. Please continue to follow the advice of our medical professionals and be sure to continue to check for updates at burlington.ca/coronavirus and bit.ly/mayormeedwardCOVID19updates.PLEASE NOTE: To read the Mayor’s statement on what the city is doing regarding COVID-19, please visit the dedicated page bit.ly/mayormeedwardCOVID19updates that will be updated as new information becomes available.--*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor's Media and Digital Communications Specialist

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