City Of Windsor Closing All Public Facilities

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Councillor Jo-Ann Gignac, left, is Acting Mayor while Mayor Drew Dilkens is out of town.

The City of Windsor is closing all public facilities out of an abundance of caution due to the growing threat of COVID-19.

Mayor Drew Dilkens says the decision to close public facilities comes after the federal government updated the travel advisory to all foreign countries, including the United States of America, as a Level 3 risk.

“We’re not doing it because there is a case pending or one that we know of, we’re doing this because of the change that has been announced today by the Federal Government with respect to the Level 3 designation,” said Dilkens.

“That caused us to reevaluate our operations,” he said.

“Don’t panic. Stay calm. Be cautious. Wash your hands. Take all precautionary measures.”

Here’s what’s changing:

• All City of Windsor public facilities – arenas, pools, museums and community centres will close effective the end of normal operating hours tomorrow evening, Sunday March 15
• This change will remain in effect at least until Monday April 6, consistent with Ontario Ministry of Education’s school closures
• Windsor Public Transit will remain in service and unaffected by these other service changes, at this time
• To the greatest extent possible, City staff who would regularly support the maintenance and operations of public municipal facilities will be redeployed to increase cleaning of the City of Windsor facilities (i.e. City Hall) which will remain open
• The Windsor Public Library Board is implementing the same service level closures as the City of Windsor and will support continued e-services

Also, as directed by the Ontario Ministry of Health, the following service level changes were implemented earlier today at Huron Lodge:

• The Ministry of Health is restricting visitation to all residents.
• The Ministry of Health is identifying essential visitors as those who have a residents who are very ill/end of life. Those who fail screening will not be permitted to enter.
• Families will be asked if they would prefer to take their loved ones home during this time. In such event, both family member and resident will have to pass the screening upon returning to the home.
• All family gatherings booked at Huron Lodge are cancelled.

The City says the additional steps, announced today, are being made out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the highest possible confidence in municipal public services. Within the last 24 hours Health Canada has updated the travel advisory to all foreign countries as a Level 3 risk, including the United States of America. Given the high number of residents that cross the border every day for employment and tourism, the screening process has become more onerous for a border City like Windsor, officials say.

Officials say the city of Windsor is in a unique position with higher density population than all other regional municipalities and public spaces and facilities are highly utilized and valued in the community.

Officials say when considering taking these unprecedented steps, they sought to balance the needs of those within the community who rely on the City’s Culture and Recreation services with the growing public health concerns.

The additional measures, officials say, are being undertaken as a precautionary measure to help mitigate the risk of transmission within the community.