COVID-19 Update: Impact on City programming and events

HAMILTON, ON – With the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation, and in the ongoing interest of public health and safety, this afternoon the City’s Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), now fully-activated at a Level II activation, announced the following in an effort to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus:

City-run program and event cancellations

• We are not closing any City facilities as this time, however we are cancelling all City-run programs and events, including public engagement events, from now until, and inclusive of, April 5, 2020
• We are reviewing all Special Events Advisory Team (S.E.A.T.) approved applications and group bookings through the Public Health lens and will be making a decision on those very shortly
• We are not accepting new group bookings for private events in City facilities at this time; it is recommended that customers with current bookings review whether they want to proceed with their event based on the current COVID-19 situation

The public is advised to assume that all City-run programming and events have been cancelled, even if they are not listed on the City’s website www.hamilton.ca/coronavirus. We will do our best to keep the site as up to date as possible as decisions are made.

We will also continue to share updates on Twitter @cityofhamilton.

As announced yesterday, the City is also cancelling all in-person, non-essential training attended or hosted by City staff, in-person staff attendance at conferences or professional development activities, and City-hosted conferences or professional development activities between now and April 30, 2020.

Public Health advice

In an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, it is recommended to:

• Cancel or postpone all large events and public gatherings (e.g., conferences) of over 250 people
• Contact Public Health for guidance with smaller gatherings (under 250)

Travel

The federal government has shared travel guidelines available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coro...

Emergency Operation Centre (EOC)

The City’s Emergency Operations Centre activated Level I on Wednesday, and moved to a full-activation Level II this morning, given the rapidly evolving situation. The role of the EOC is to coordinate a response to any type of emergency and provide support and resources to the emergency, and ensures business continuity for City services.

Additional Resources

• For regular City of Hamilton COVID-19 updates, please visit 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

“This is a rapidly evolving situation and staff are working hard to ensure that we take all of the necessary steps to help mitigate the spread of the virus. We want to balance the ongoing delivery of City programs and services while ensuring the health and safety of the community and our staff.” - Mayor Fred Eisenberger, City of Hamilton

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jen Recine
Communications
City of Hamilton
905-973-0592
[email protected]

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