The mayor of Greater Napanee has reinstated the town’s state of emergency, just over a month after it was removed.
A statement from the town released Thursday said that Mayor Marg Isbester called another state of emergency on Wednesday, to protect the health of residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While the Town of Greater Napanee remains in good standing with its limited number of active COVID-19 cases, there is evidence of community spread in the KFL&A region as a whole; reinstating the State of Emergency is a proactive approach to ensuring that the Town continues to prioritize the health and safety of the community,” a statement from the town said.
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Napanee falls under the KFL&A Public Health catchment area, which, as of Friday morning, is only reporting nine active cases of COVID-19, at least one of whom tested positive in Napanee.
Nevertheless, cases have jumped across the province and across the country over the last month.
Isbester said calling for a state of emergency will allow the town to be flexible not only if COVID-19 cases rises, but the inevitable absences caused by the cold and flu.
“The risk of staff being ill could draw us short to meet minimum maintenance standards in areas such as public works, facilities, emergency services and utilities. Not being able to meet those standards can put the municipality in a position of negligent liability; liability that could tie up human and monetary resources for years,” Isbester said in a press release.
The town is said that the state of emergency will not affect the province’s reopening plan, but will give power to the municipal emergency control group to make fast decisions when necessary.
