Council offices and libraries will reopen on Thursday 9 September to allow for deep cleaning tomorrow (Wed 8 Sept) before staff and the public come back into the buildings.

Mayor Don Cameron said that while the move to Alert Level 2 and its additional freedoms is welcomed it is important to recognise it is still not life as normal.

Like other businesses reopening we must meet public health requirements and as such the new Level 2 delta safety protocols will be strictly enforced in all Council buildings.

This means that people coming into our offices and libraries will need to scan in with the COVID19 tracer app or complete the register, use the provided hand sanitizer, maintain physical distancing of 2m from others, and if over 12 years of age wear a face covering.

To allow for 2m distancing the number of people allowed within Council buildings will be limited and people may be asked to wait outside if there are too many people inside.

There will be a time limit for being on our premises including in the libraries and some services will such as the library computers are currently unavailable.

Transfer Stations and kerbside collection will return to normal from tomorrow (Wed 8 Sept) but also with strict Level 2 safety protocols in place.

With the end of Level 3 the Civil Defence Emergency Operating Centre (EOC) will be stood down on Wednesday and replaced with an Incident Management Team.

The welfare response is still operational and anyone needing assistance should continue to call Council on 07 895 8188.

Mayor Cameron noted that we have reached this point only because of everyone who followed the rules and have helped to stop the spread of the virus.

Although we are now able to do much more it is important to keep in mind the sacrifices we all needed to make to get here and remember that if there are further COVID-19 outbreaks we could easily end up in lockdown again.

Please continue to ‘play it safe’.

Wear a face covering and keep your distance from other people in public, if you have any flu like symptoms call your doctor or Healthline (0800 358 5453) and get tested, keep track of where you’ve been and who you’ve seen, and regularly wash your hands.

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