New protective measures including public closure of City Hall
By Lethbridge Herald on March 18, 2020.
City of Lethbridge news release:
After declaring a State of Local Emergency earlier today, the City of Lethbridge continues to work on implementing protective measures to limit the possible transmission of COVID-19. This now includes the closure of City Hall to all members of the public as of 8 a.m. on Thursday, March 19.
Residents will be asked to access the City’s online services rather than visiting City Hall. Anyone with urgent City Hall business can call Lethbridge 311 to inquire about booking an appointment with the required department. A full list on online City Services is available at http://www.lethbridge.ca/onlineservices. This closure will be in effect until further notice.
The decision to close City Hall to the public was made to ensure the health and safety of both City staff and residents. Employees will continue to work in the building with appropriate measure in place to promote social distancing.
Other closures
· Lethbridge Police Service have closed public access to several areas. Details are available here: https://www.lethbridgepolice.ca/
· All Lethbridge Fire Halls are closed to the public. If you have urgent inquires for Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services, please call Lethbridge 311 and they can help direct your call.
· Lethbridge Visitor Centre on Scenic Dr. S. has closed until further notice.
· Access to the Cemetery office is by appointment only
· With restricted access to the Animal Shelter, residents can have dog licenses processed over the phone or by email. The Shelter will accept pictures of lost pets to compare to animals housed and will continue to facilitate adoptions and pet returns by appointment.
Additional protection for Transit drivers
Today is Transit Driver Appreciation Day and the City of Lethbridge couldn’t be more grateful for our dedicated drivers than we are right now. Through COVID-19, they are making sure our community keeps moving so they can get to needed medical appointments, pick up food and get to work. Thank you! Today we are putting in additional measures to protect our drivers.
· Wherever possible, we are blocking off any seats that are in the immediate area of Transit drivers to ensure they can maintain social distancing.
· Given the lower than normal rider numbers at this time, we do not anticipate this will pose any capacity issues.
· We are also asking riders to exit in the back as to limit contact.
Potential Scams
Several scams have been reported to our 311 contact centre. One of these includes people posing as the City of Lethbridge and threatening to turn off resident’s utilities. If you are suspicious of someone posing to be a City employee, please call Lethbridge 311 to report this activity.
Watch what you flush
With a shortage of toilet paper, we know residents are turning to paper towels, facial tissues and wipes as an alternative. Please DO NOT FLUSH these items as they can clog sewer lines and create sewer backups. Please dispose of them in the garbage. http://www.lethbridge.ca/clog.
In order to protect our residents and staff, the City of Lethbridge is committed to continuing with all necessary measures to limit the transmission of COVID-19. Please follow our social media feeds and visithttp://www.lethbridge.ca/COVID -19 for regular updates.
-19
