COVID-19 Update: City’s emergency operations centre activated

HAMILTON, ON  - Yesterday, as part of continued close monitoring of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the City of Hamilton activated its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for a Level I general activation. Beginning tomorrow morning, the City will initiate a Level II activation at the EOC.

While Public Health Services continues to advise that the risk of contracting the virus is still low, the City is focused on efforts to protect staff, their families, and the public from potential exposure to COVID-19.

The role of the City’s EOC is to coordinate a response to any type of emergency. The EOC provides support and resources to the emergency and ensures business continuity for City services.

Staff appointed to the EOC regularly train in preparation for large-scale emergencies using mock scenarios. In recent years, these exercises have included incidents of mass casualties, active shooters, cyber-attacks, and natural disasters.

In addition to activating its EOC, this afternoon the City implemented the following cancellations related to the activity of its 8,000 employees:

• All in-person, non-essential training attended or hosted by City staff between now and April 30, 2020 is cancelled.
• All in-person staff attendance at conferences or professional development activities between now and April 30, 2020 is cancelled.
• All City-hosted conferences or professional development activities between now and April 30, 2020 are cancelled.

The City is currently evaluating impacts of the recently announced school closures and will provide additional information for residents relating to this tomorrow. In addition, we are reviewing all City-hosted public meetings, events and gatherings, and we expect to provide additional information on that tomorrow as well.

A media conference to provide further updates will be scheduled for mid-day tomorrow. A formal media advisory will follow in the morning.

“The activation of our EOC this week builds on the hard work of our Public Health staff over the last couple of months, and helps ensure that the City continues to be responsive to the COVID-19 situation. With cases of COVID-19 starting to increase locally, and with today’s announcement regarding school closures over the next few weeks, the City’s activation is timely. We will continue to monitor and respond to this rapidly evolving situation to ensure we are providing the best support possible to the community as we work together to find our way through this challenging situation.” - Mayor Eisenberger, City of Hamilton

Additional resources

• www.hamilton.ca/coronavirus
• Public Health Services’ COVID-19 Hotline 905-546-2424 ext.7970 or [email protected]
• Visit Ontario’s website to learn more about how the province continues to protect Ontarians from COVID-19

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jasmine Graham
Senior Communications Officer
City of Hamilton
905-973-2829
[email protected]

Michelle Shantz
Communications and Media Advisor
Office of Mayor Fred Eisenberger
905-546-4225
[email protected]