DRYDEN – BREAKING NEWS – Dryden has declared a state of emergency over the situation with COVID-19.
The City of Dryden has issued a State of Emergency as of 7:00 AM CDT, Saturday, March 28th.
City of Dryden Mayor Wilson says, “This decision to declare an emergency is never taken lightly. Our Council and our community stand behind all frontline workers who protect and serve our residents in these difficult times. Municipal efforts are focused on the COVID-19 pandemic for the health and safety of everyone, but we need all our residents to act together. If you asked to self-isolate, you must comply. Refusing to do so is irresponsible and places our community at risk.”
After careful consideration of the possible community impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding need for people to take necessary precautions, the City of Dryden Council has declared a State of Emergency for the City of Dryden, which was executed by Deputy Mayor Shayne MacKinnon on March 28, 2020.
This decision follows declarations made by the Province of Ontario for the entire province as well as numerous other municipalities that have declared municipal states of emergency. The City of Dryden’s declaration underscores the urgency of the situation that our community is preparing for.
The declaration of an emergency is an action available to municipalities under the Provincial Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. The City’s Emergency Control Group was activated on March 13, 2020 to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to meet regularly under the local state of emergency now in place.
All City of Dryden emergency and core services continue to operate with some adjustments to less essential services. Further service information can be found at www.dryden.ca/covid19.
“Our municipal staff are continuing to monitor this situation and are taking appropriate actions to address the evolving COVID-19 situation,” said the City’s CAO, Roger Nesbitt. “While municipal staff, public health, health care and other community stakeholders are working tirelessly to prepare for the impacts from COVID-19, we need all of our residents to practice social-distancing and to strictly follow guidelines and mandates to self-isolate. We need to do everything we can to slow this virus down and help our health care providers deal with the expected surge of COVID-19 patients.”
For questions about COVID-19, people are encouraged to refer to public health and government sources for up-to-date, reliable information. Links to some of these sources can found at www.dryden.ca/covid19.
To help slow the spread of COVID-19:
Avoid non-essential gatherings – stay home as much as possible.
Practice appropriate physical/social distancing – at least two metres apart. Wash your hands frequently using soap and for 15-20 seconds each time. Use hand sanitizer.
Cough or sneeze into your arm.
If you have COVID-19 symptoms, self-monitor and self-isolate. You can use the online self- assessment tool at covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/. If you are having difficulty breathing or experiencing other severe symptoms, call 911 immediately.
If you have travelled outside of Canada recently, you must self-isolate for 14 days.
