Waterloo Region and the municipalities it encompasses say they are working toward opening administrative buildings and city/township halls in the coming weeks.
Regional chair Karen Redman says plans were discussed on Tuesday at council over the move.
“Yesterday, council discussed plans to tentatively reopen regional administrative buildings to employees and the public beginning in early to mid-June,” she said Wednesday morning. “This will happen when the province begins Phase 2 of their recovery plan.”
The region, the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo as well as the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich closed most of their offices on March 18 following provincial recommendations amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“When we’ve fully reopened buildings and programs, we want to make sure that we ensure the health and safety of employees and customers, we maximize service to citizens, return laid-off staff to work and minimize negative year-end impacts while also adapting our buildings, service delivery and programing to meet public health guidelines,” she said.
The municipalities announced Wednesday that the closure would extend into June after the province extended its recommendations.
They say administrative buildings will tentatively open on June 15, while recreation facilities will remain closed until at least June 30.
The region, cities and townships are alerting residents to new measures being instituted to protect staff and citizens.
These will include the following:
- Plexiglass barriers in customer service areas and on buses.
- New rules in buildings to ensure physical distancing (e.g. limiting the number of people on elevators).
- More hand-sanitizing stations.
- More services available online.
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