Kelowna, West Kelowna mayors say teams evaluating Covid-19 response

Both the mayors of Kelowna and West Kelowna have issued statements telling residents both cities will strive to maintain services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I know there’s a lot of anxiety in our community and around the world about the COVID-19 virus,” said Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran. “I assure you our top priority is the health, safety, and well-being of the public and our employees.

“We have – and will continue – to follow the advice of the B.C. medical health officer with regards to City services and facilities.”

Basran said the goal is to flatten the curve so that there are “no spikes in the number of people needing urgent medical attention.”

The latest direction from the medical health officer includes ordering the cancellation of gatherings of more than 50 people.

Basran said: “The City has a Critical Incident Response Team that takes actions like this based on the most up-to-date information from public health officials. Contingency planning is happening in case a large number of staff become ill or are self-isolating. These plans will maintain essential services such as water treatment, wastewater management and the emergency services our citizens rely on.”

He said enhanced screening measures have been in place YLW for a number of weeks for the safety of customers and that they have been expanded and updated.

West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom also said staff were following the recommendations from the Ministry of Health and the BC Centre for Disease Control and remaining vigilant to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“Our senior management team is working with emergency management organizations to implement local-to-regional measures to help protect our communities,” said Milsom. “As we know, the status of COVID-19 is changing daily and we must adhere to the health authority’s recommendation for social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus.

“This means we are evaluating the operations of our facilities, and which programs and events should be postponed or cancelled.”

He said council expected an update from staff later Monday.

“We will also be increasing our electronic tools to stay engaged with our community. We will be expanding the use of our live streaming services, increasing our website and social media posts and online feedback. More information will be available in the days ahead.”