Staying Informed about the Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Created: Monday, 16 March 2020 17:01

Shelburne County, NS, - Following the Province’s press conference on Sunday, March Shelburne County, NS, - Following the Province’s press conference on Sunday, March 15th, all five municipal units, involving the Mayors/Wardens, senior staff, Emergency Measures Operations (EMO) personnel and a staff representative from EMO NS, met via teleconference to discuss the coronavirus and to ensure measures are in place to provide essential services and protect staff and the public.

At this time, all municipal offices in Shelburne County remain open but this will continue to be monitored daily. For the protection of our staff, residents and visitors we are requesting that anyone visiting municipal offices or facilities respect the social distance of six feet and to continue to practice good hygiene, such as washing hands.

In the coming days, the Municipalities will meet regularly and continue to work togetheras the Federal and Provincial Governments provide updates on the status of the virus in our communities, the Province, the Country and abroad. As updates are published, we will share them on our municipal websites and social media platforms. We encourage everyone to be vigilant and do what you can to be prepared and stay informed. We appreciate how the people in Shelburne County have come together in this time of need and how they are always ready to support each other. We would also like to thank all the Health Care workers for their dedication and commitment.

Some key messages delivered by the Province at their press conference, is that we must work together; this is a time in which we need to think about others; and we must continue to protect those most vulnerable. Effective March 15th, under the authority of the Health Protection Act, the Province is requiring anyone who has travelled outside of Canada to self-isolate for 14 days upon return, even if you are symptom-free. If you are aware of anyone returning to the Country and refusing to self-isolate, we urge you to call Public Health at 902-875-2623. This is our opportunity to avoid the worst of this virus by working together. These types of actions will help slow the spread of the virus and reduce the size when it peaks. Minimizing interactions with others will also help control the virus and will help protect health resources, enabling them to respond effectively to those diagnosed with the coronavirus. Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, encouraged us all to avoid all non-essential travel and to continue to practice good hygiene by washing your hands often, covering a cough or sneeze with a tissue, avoiding touching your face and cleaning high touch surfaces often. Being prepared and stayinginformed is vital and we encourage you to continually visit https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus for up to date information.

Finally, at the press conference, the Premier stated that we need to rely on Public Healthand on evidence-based science to make decisions. It is important that we get ourinformation from reliable sources and 811 is a great source of information. To help youbetter understand if you need to talk to 811, please visit 811.novascotia.ca to take asimple questionnaire.

For further information the press release can be found athttps://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20200315002.