COVID-19 Alberni Valley Response

March 19, 2020 - Due to the current COVID-19 public health crisis, the Regular Meeting of Council, scheduled for Monday, March 23, 2020, at 2:00 p.m., has been cancelled.

“The decision has been made to cancel the March 23rd meeting. This will allow the City additional time to consider how to proceed with City business during this public health crisis while meeting our legislated requirements and ensuring the health and safety of our citizens,” said City Clerk, Davina Hartwell.

Section 6(3) of Council’s Procedures Bylaw allows Council to cancel a regular meeting (provided that two consecutive meetings are not cancelled).

We continue to dedicate our resources to the ongoing provision of essential services and will keep the community abreast of how City Council business will move forward in these uncertain times.

March 16, 2020 - In response to COVID-19, the City of Port Alberni and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District are restricting public access to local government workspaces and public facilities until further notice.

“In light of today’s news, we are taking precautionary measures and closing City-owned facilities to the public. These closures will help minimize risk to staff so we may continue to provide essential services to the community we serve. This unprecedented step will also help protect our citizens and those considered high-risk by limiting opportunities for community-transmission,” said Tim Pley, City of Port Alberni CAO.

The following facilities are closing to the public:

• City Hall
• Public Works/Parks Yard
• Echo ’67 Community Centre
• Echo Aquatic Centre
• Alberni Valley Multiplex
• Alberni Valley Museum
• Port Alberni Fire Hall
• Echo Park Fieldhouse
• Glenwood Centre
• Gyro Youth Centre

While the City is restricting access at its facilities, it remains open for business via telephone, email and its many online services. If people have general questions or concerns regarding service delivery, they are encouraged to contact City Hall at 250-723-2146. For questions regarding Parks, Recreation and Heritage, contact 250-723-2181.

We will continue to monitor the global, national, and local impacts of COVID-19 and prepare proactively in coordination with the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District.

We are committed to keeping our community informed on further changes to delivery of services as the COVID-19 issue evolves and recommend people obtain their COVID-19 information through reliable sources such as Island Health, the BC Ministry of Health and BC Centre for Disease Control.

Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District administration building is not open to the public as of 4:30pm on March 16, 2020. While the ACRD restricts public access we remain open for business via telephone, email or online services.

Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District 250-720-2700 Visit www.acrd.bc.ca for the staff contact list

For Building Inspection and Planning Services please call 250-720-2700.

The Alberni Valley Landfill and the West Coast Landfill are encouraging residents when visiting the landfills to use debit or credit card to limit cash handling.

Please be advised that effective 12:00 pm March 17, 2020 the Port Alberni 3rd Ave Recycling Depot will be closed until further notice. This is a precautionary measure to ensure the health and safety of both depot staff and the general public regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 13, 2020 - Further to the BC Health Officer directing cancellation of all gatherings larger than 250 people, the City of Port Alberni will be cancelling any events of 250 or more guests effective immediately, until further notice. The City encourages all event organizers renting City facilities to follow this same recommendation from the province. The Sunshine Club has made the decision to suspend all activities, programs, meetings and events effective Monday, March 16, 2020.

The Provincial Health Officer is recommending against all non-essential travel outside of Canada, including to the United States. Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer advises to postpone or cancel all non-essential travel outside of Canada.

We are continuing to monitor the impacts of COVID-19 globally, nationally and locally and are proactively preparing for potential impacts.

Residents are reminded and encouraged to take the following steps to stay healthy and prevent the spread of infections by:

• washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
• avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands;
• avoiding close contact with people who are sick;
• cough or sneeze into your sleeve and not your hands;
• staying home if you are sick to avoid spreading illness to others;
• social distancing (avoiding crowded places and non-essential gatherings, no handshakes)

Residents are requested to contact HealthLinkBC at 8-1-1 if they may have been exposed to COVID-19 to arrange for safe testing.

March 12, 2020 - The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) jointly with the City of Port Alberni have opened a Level One Emergency Operations Centre to support the local response to Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

The purpose of the Emergency Operations Centre is to gather and share information related to COVID-19, to carry out advance planning in the event the COVID-19 situation escalates locally, and to determine the potential for operational impacts to local govrenment services. Both organizations have jointly developed a COVID-19 Response Plan (the Plan) to help prepare for the potential arrival of COVID-19. The Plan aims to strengthen preparedness at the local level, both publically and within the two government organizations.

Currently, the Public Health Agency of Canada has assessed the public health risk as low for the general population in Canada. As lead agencies for British Columbia, the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and the BC Ministry of Health are closely monitoring the situation and continually reassessing the risk level as new information becomes available.

Residents are reminded and encouraged to take the following steps to stay healthy and prevent the spread of infections by:

• washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
• avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands;
• avoiding close contact with people who are sick;
• cough or sneeze into your sleeve and not your hands;
• staying home if you are sick to avoid spreading illness to others;
• remembering that diseases can make anyone sick, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

Residents are requested to contact HealthLinkBC at 8-1-1 with health related questions (day or night).

March 9, 2020 - The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) and City of Port Alberni are actively developing a joint Alberni Valley Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Response Plan (the Plan) to help prepare for the potential arrival of COVID-19.

The Plan aims to strengthen preparedness at the local level, both publically and within the two government organizations. “As local governments, our main role is to help provide accurate and timely information to the public, as well as protect our employees so that we can continue to provide and maintain services for our residents,” said Tim Pley, CAO for the City of Port Alberni.

Currently, the Public Health Agency of Canada has assessed the public health risk as low for Canada. As lead agencies for British Columbia, the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and the BC Ministry of Health are closely monitoring the situation and continually reassessing the risk level as new information becomes available.

Following the advice from the Ministry of Health and the BCCDC, residents are reminded and encouraged to take the following steps to stay healthy and prevent the spread of infections by:

• washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
• avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands;
• avoiding close contact with people who are sick;
• cough or sneeze into your sleeve and not your hands;
• staying home if you are sick to avoid spreading illness to others;
• remembering that diseases can make anyone sick, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

The City and ACRD will continue to monitor information provided by Federal and Provincial agencies and we encourage residents to do the same by regularly visiting these Federal and Provincial links:

• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak update (link is external)
• Latest case counts on Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (link is external)

We are committed to keeping the citizens of the Alberni Valley informed about any changes to the delivery of City or regional services as the COVID-19 issue evolves.

More information on prevention and risk can be found here: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Prevention and Risks