District of Port Edward Holds Off on any call of Local State of Emergency at this time

The District of Port Edward Council reached a decision on how it plans to
move forward at this time in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

The District of Port Edward will not be joining the City of Prince Rupert with any Declaration of a Local State of Emergency at the moment, the decision to hold off on such a step made at the Tuesday District Council session.

Relaying the news to their residents through a Facebook post on the District social media page, the Port Edward Council outlined the steps that they will be taking, with District work crews having closed parks and taped off areas, as well as placing signs of notice at those locations.

The District will also work with the the Port Edward Historical Society to not encourage or condone travel to the region during this time of pandemic.

With an eye towards some of the proposed measures being considered by Prince Rupert's officials, the District advised residents that it will be in close conversation with Prince Rupert to relay any travel related orders that may be put in place by Prince Rupert's Emergency Operations Centre.

The District also highlighted how its approach was one which seeks to balance the health and safety of their residents while working with the interests and actions of Higher levels of government.

Last week, the District put in place a range of measures and closed local facilities to the public as part of their initial response to the situation.

You can review the full statement from the District here.

On Monday night, Prince Rupert City Council took a very different approach towards their COVID-19 response, approving a motion from Mayor Lee Brain to  declare the State of Local Emergency and put forward a range of recommendations from local doctors to the Emergency Operations Centre for further evaluation and potential action.

Many of the recommendations would limit the movement of residents and change the very nature of their day to day activities, so far, the City of Prince Rupert has only put in place two of those measures.

One related to travel into Prince Rupert speaks to a fourteen day period of self-isolation, the other implementing a range of measures at local grocery stores.

For more items of note from the District of Port Edward see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.