Today Grey County declared a state of an emergency following the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Grey County Warden Paul McQueen declared the emergency at 5:00 p.m. on March 26. The declaration is part of Grey County’s effort to take strong action in response to the pandemic that is impacting our residents and the services they rely on.

Declaring a State of Emergency allows Council to act and make orders to protect residents and increase the municipality’s ability to share resources, personnel and equipment and respond to broader public needs. It also allows the County to recruit and support volunteers to assist with emergency efforts if needed. This situation demands our full attention and everyone’s cooperation.

COVID-19 continues to be an issue across Ontario and the number of cases is growing. Locally, the Grey Bruce Health Unit confirm six cases and is concerned about spread of the virus in our communities.

Declaring an emergency sends a strong message to residents. Warden McQueen joins Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra in asking residents to follow Public Health recommendations and take precautions to protect themselves; stay at home, stay safe and only venture out to buy essential supplies.

Earlier this week the Province ordered all non-essential businesses to close to further contain the spread of COVID-19. Grey County supports this action and will continue to support recommendations from the Province and the Medical Officer of Health.

For more information about COVID-19 in Grey County, visit www.Grey.ca/Covid-19. For the most up-to-date local public health information, visit www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca.

source: media release, Grey County