WESTLOCK – Westlock County will not declare a state of local emergency regarding the spread of coronavirus, but this could change if the situation worsens in the municipality.
“We did not feel it was necessary given the provincial state of emergency,” said CAO Leo Ludwig during the March 31 council meeting.
Under the prerogative of the provincial government, community peace officers can enforce compliance with Alberta Health Services directives for businesses and individuals, and the county is reviewing how to manage it.
“I would like to commend Leo and his staff for the measures that they’ve taken to ensure that staff are safe and health. I really appreciate the hard work that’s gone into it. There’s so much going on behind the scenes that we don’t see. We have to worry about ourselves in our own homes, but they’re dealing with the public,” said reeve Lou Hall.
An undisclosed number of county staff are working from home; some were in self-isolation for flu-like symptoms or out-of-country travel but have recently returned to work. Still, all meetings are conducted electronically.
The county office has been closed since March 13, when a staff member who travelled abroad was believed to have potentially been exposed to COVID-19.
“We do not have any staff that have any sort of formal training or credentials in that area, so we have been relying on the information that we’re getting out of Alberta Health Services. We’ve been crafting our own directives and our own protocols internally, on the fly, and we continue to do so,” said Ludwig.
He added: “I’m extremely proud of my staff, how they’ve stepped up.”
“We’re very grateful that we’ve got someone in charge who seems to know what he’s doing. We just have to stand back, I think, at this time and let them get on with it. There’s not too much we can do, unfortunately,” said Coun. Victor Julyan.
The county office and public works shop will remain closed to the public until necessary.
