City of Regina shuts down public facilities over COVID-19 concerns

Mayor Michael Fougere hopes Regina residents will understand the city’s decision to close all public facilities to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.

“Some of these closures will likely be inconvenient for residents, but we ask them to be patient and understanding …,” Fougere said during a media conference Monday at City Hall. “We are acting not from a place of panic but from a place of prevention.”

The city is closing City Hall, hockey rinks, recreational facilities, Regina Public Library branches and community centres at the end of business Monday. As well, city events are postponed and council and committee meetings are cancelled.

“In many ways, we are in uncharted territory,” Fougere said. “We’re trying to navigate it the best we can with the principle in mind of public safety and lessening the exposure to residents.”

All of the city’s arenas (including the Brandt Centre and the Co-operators Centre), the North West and Sandra Schmirler leisure centres, the SportPlex (including the Fieldhouse and the Lawson Aquatic Centre) and all neighbourhood and community-operated centres will close.

So too will all Regina Public Library branches as well as facilities such as the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre and the Regina Floral Conservatory.

City-operated programs like swimming lessons also will be postponed starting Tuesday. Those who had enrolled in the programs will be given refunds or can have their accounts credited.

All leisure passes will be automatically suspended until facilities reopen.

The city already had put a restriction on business-related travel, but now it’s asking all employees to avoid all non-essential personal travel. Any employees who return from trips outside of Canada will be asked to self-isolate upon their return.

Employees are being asked to work from home where possible, but those who can’t will see some differences. Starting Tuesday, no more than five people will be allowed on City Hall elevators and no more than six people will be involved in face-to-face meetings.

“We’re going to be leveraging technology to make sure that we are avoiding contact with each other,” said city manager Chris Holden.

While other city-operated services are stopped, public transit will remain operational. Holden noted ridership already was down because of the threat of the virus and he expected numbers to drop further in light of Monday’s announcement.

He admitted the city may have to reduce or stop transit altogether in the future for the safety of drivers and the public.

Waste and recycling services will continue unabated.

The Regina Police Service already has a pandemic plan in place and Fougere said he has been assured there won’t be any lessening of services.

Regina’s fire department hasn’t run into any situations yet where firefighters potentially have been exposed to the virus like some of their Saskatoon counterparts, but plans are in place.

“Our staff are making sure that we’re using all the personal protective equipment,” Holden said. “We’re taking additional precautions to make sure that we’re protecting our firefighters.

“I know the police are doing the same thing, but it’s a reality and it’s something we have to be mindful of. If we were to have that occur, we would have to do the exact same thing that occurred in Saskatoon.”

Holden said the city is examining procedures to ensure city employees aren’t put at risk if they have to enter residents’ homes to provide services.

One area in which Fougere had complete confidence was the city’s water and wastewater supply.

“We have experts who are taking care of our essential services,” Fougere said. “I can say categorically, without question, the public should have no concerns about water quality, wastewater (or) all the services we provide every day.”

— With files from 980 CJME’s Sarah Mills