Leamington Declares State of Emergency

The Municipality joins the County of Essex in sending a coordinated message to residents: We’re in this together

In conjunction with the County of Essex, the Municipality of Leamington declared a State of Emergency today, taking proactive and precautionary measures to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic. Leamington remains committed to working collaboratively with all partnering municipalities, government officials, first responder agencies and healthcare organizations to ensure the Municipality is best prepared to respond to the needs of our residents as the threat of the virus grows.

 “The decision to declare a State of Emergency was not made lightly,” said Mayor Hilda MacDonald. “We are in the early stages of this pandemic and based on the evidence we have seen from a global standpoint, we believe the time to call the emergency is now. It ensures we are as nimble as possible during these fast moving times in order to keep our community safe.”

Declaring the State of Emergency indicates the seriousness of the situation and then allows the Municipality to prepare by limiting activities to essential services. It ensures we have the flexibility to mobilize appropriate resources as needs arise, not only for COVID-19, but for other possible issues such as lake flooding, as water levels locally remain at record highs.

Mayor MacDonald joins her colleagues on County Council in urging residents to take this situation very seriously and to follow the advice of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit as it relates to social-distancing, proper hand washing and sanitizing as well as the 14-day self-isolation for returning travellers.

“I can’t stress it enough, it is imperative that residents take this situation seriously. We must do all we can to save lives and lessen the impact to our health care system. Stay home as much as possible. Wash your hands often. Sanitize surfaces. Remain calm and be safe,” said Mayor MacDonald. “We have a strong community - we’re in this together and we’ll get through this together,” added Mayor MacDonald.  

Community Preparedness – What Every Resident Can Do

• For more information on the Coronavirus, its potential impact on the community and tips on how best to protect yourself in your daily activities, please visit the WECHU special web page: Novel Coronavirus (2019). Along with the preventative information provided by the WECHU, the Municipality of Leamington would also like to advise residents, if you are sick, please stay home.

Media Contact:
Kelly Sfetkidis, Manager of Communications and Public Relations
Municipality of Leamington
kelly@leamington.ca
519-326-5761 ext. 1117