Further to the City of Yellowknife's announcement that six municipal services and the visitor's centre would be suspended indefinitely, city hall and the solid waste facility will also will suspend their activities starting Thursday "until further notice."
The decision, which was posted on social media accounts and the city webpste, adds to Wednesday's announcement that the Fieldhouse, Multiplex, Ruth Inch Memorial Pool, Yellowknife Community Arena, Curling Club, and Yellowknife Public Library are being shuttered in an attempt to stem the spread of COVID-19.
In a series of questions to the city, media spokesperson Alison Harrower stated that the municipal government is doing its part to prevent the spread of the virus in accordance with recommendations by the federal government and GNWT.
With regards to the landfill, Harrower stated that the city is limiting staff levels to essential services.
"The City is continuing to provide essential services, including residential and commercial waste and organics collection," she said of the landfill. "Safe work practices for all functional areas are being reviewed and supplemented with best practices as advised by the Chief Public Health Officer."
Public transit, which provides for buses into the downtown core and across the municipality is maintained for the time being.
"The City will continue to provide public transit at this time, with increased safe work practices applied including a nightly deep cleaning of all buses and the wiping down of surfaces by drivers multiple times a day, as advised by the Chief Public Health Officer," Harrower stated. The city continues to monitor the situation and will update residents with any changes."
The city is making efforts to "protect the safety of our entire workforce which provide essential services" for residents, she added.
Upcoming meetings
On Monday, the Government and Priorities Committee meeting was cancelled along with other scheduled committee meetings this week however future regular council meetings will provide for councillors to dial in to discuss municipal issues.
"We strongly encourage interested members of the public to attend electronically via the City’s webcast," Harrower stated.