All staff and city councillors who attended a council meeting last Monday in the tiny North Okanagan community of Enderby, B.C., are self-isolating following COVID-19 exposure.
The city says a person who attended council chambers at City Hall on the evening of Aug. 17 later tested positive for the virus.
The municipality says the Interior Health Authority (IHA) determined there is a risk exposure for others who were in the room at the same time as the infected person.
“In accordance with the BC Centre for Disease Control recommendations, people who are contacts of a confirmed case must self-isolate for 14 days since their last contact and monitor for symptoms,” the city’s news release says.
“Only those who were in Council Chambers during the evening meeting need to self-isolate for 14 days since their last contact with the positive person and monitor for symptoms,” the city says.
“Others do not need to self-isolate unless the health authority determines that they have been in contact with a positive person, in which case they will be notified by the health authority.”Enderby City Hall says it will be providing remote service only, effective immediately, through Aug. 31.
“As City Hall has a relatively small staff, most of whom are self-isolating, public access to City Hall cannot be provided during this time,” stated the news release.
Several remote service options are available to residents.
- Telephone: 250-838-7230. All telephone calls will go to the answering service and then routed to the correct staff member.
- Email: info@cityofenderby.com
The city says correspondence can be dropped through the mail slot by the front doors.
For essential and time-sensitive items that need to be picked up from City Hall, appointments can be scheduled by calling 250-838-7230 during normal business hours.
One of the staff who are not self-isolating will call you back.
All emergency services and most routine services will continue to be delivered, although some routine services may be delayed, the city said.
In-person meetings will not occur until the self-isolating staff are cleared by the health authority to return. Staff who are self-isolating will be working from home.
“The City of Enderby extends its thoughts and sympathy to those who may be suffering from COVID-19,” the municipality stated in the news release.
“We are committed to following the recommendations of the BC Centre for Disease Control and our Safe Operations Plan for the protection of the workers and the public, while also ensuring that services continue to be provided.”
City Hall is expected to reopen to the public on Sept. 1, 2020.
Updates will be posted to the City’s Emergency Management Dashboard at www.cityofenderby.com/emergency.