City announces actions to help mitigate risk of Covid-19 community spread

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Brantford City Hall

BRANTFORD, ON: First and foremost, The Corporation of the City of Brantford’s top priority is the health and safety of our citizens. To that end, the City is working diligently with our partners at the Ministry of Health, Brant County Health Unit (BCHU) and the Brant Community Health System (BCHS). In Brantford BCHU is the lead agency for local information about Coronavirus (Covid-19).

 Consistent with the advice provided by Public Health Canada and to help mitigate the onset of community spread in the city of Brantford, the City of Brantford is announcing the cancellation of a series of non-essential programs and services. For the purposes of providing direction to the public, “non-essential” is defined as meetings or programs that are not legislatively mandated, time sensitive, or that directly impact the health and safety of City residents.

We greatly appreciate the public’s understanding with respect to the following non-essential programming and service cancellations.

Financial Transactions

Effective Monday March 16th, payments for Water Utilities and Property Tax will not be accepted in person at City Hall. Payments can be made: Online/Telephone banking through your financial institution. These precautions are in place to limit the amount of person to person contact for the time being for the protection of the public and City staff.

Health and Human Services

  • All Social Assistance, Housing and Homelessness Services and Childrens' Services remain available at 220 Colborne Street.  Any decision to reduce in person services at 220 Colborne St. will be communicated to the public.
  • Effective March 13th Health and Human Services will be pre-screening clients and tenants for symptoms or risk factors related to COVID-19 including fever, onset of Covid-19 symptoms, or travel to an affected area.  Clients and tenants who are exhibiting symptoms or have travelled to impacted countries will be asked to not attend 220 Colborne Street and will be offered alternative services on an individual basis. 
  • Housing Services tenants who are exhibiting symptoms or have travelled to impact countries who also require emergency maintenance services will receive instructions and maintenance services based on their individual circumstance.
  • Common spaces (meeting rooms) in Housing Services residential buildings will be closed to all group functions to promote social distancing.

    EarlyOn Programming 
  • Consistent with the Province of Ontario’s direction that all schools will be closed for the same time period, all EarlyON Child and Family Centres in the City of Brantford and the County of Brant will be closed and all programming cancelled from March 14 through to April 5, 2020. 

 Healthy Kids 2020 Passport to Health

Effective immediately, the Health Kids 2020 Passport to Health program has been cancelled, including all activities listed in the passports distributed to schools within the City of Brantford and County of Brant. We thank our community partners for their co-operation and look forward to providing this program to the community again in the future.

Seniors for Seniors programming

Effective immediately, all Seniors for Seniors programming is cancelled, including workshops and activities organized by the Grand River Council on Aging scheduled from March 13 – March 31st at Branlyn Community Centre,  Brantford Mosque, Sikh Association of Brantford, Brierwood Gardens Apartments and Southwick Skyline Apartments.

Parks and Recreation

Branlyn Community Centre is closed in conjunction with the Ministry of Education decision to close the adjoining school.

The City is carefully considering decisions with respect to programming associated with recreational facilities and City operated Community Centres. An announcement regarding the City’s recreational facilities will be made following a meeting of the City’s Emergency Management Planning Committee (EMPC) on Saturday, March 14th, 2020.

 Tourism Brantford

The motor coach step-on guide service and hosting of motor coach groups at the Tourism Centre will be suspended until further notice. The Centre will also suspend the blue box distribution program for the time being as well as bookings for the Tim Horton’s Community Room located within the Centre.

 Brantford-Brant Business Resource (BRC) Enterprise Centre

 All BRC Workshops scheduled in the months of March and April will be rescheduled to a later date. Furthermore, Starter Company Plus to Webex orientation sessions and business consultations will shift to a WebEx virtual platform/format beginning March 16th. The “Kick if Up on Social” event planned on March 25th at Brantford Golf and Country Club is also cancelled.

Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts

With the cancellation of the Healthy Kids 2020 Passport to Health program, all programming at the Sanderson Centre on March 16th (magic workshops) are cancelled. The March 16th  Magic show, March 24th- Tanya Talaga, March 25th matinee (Marie Bottrell) and March 26 – 29th (Rhythm Dance Competition) have also been cancelled by independent vendors and will be rescheduled at a later date.

 Public Meetings and Seminars

All Public Information Centre’s (PICs), City hosted neighbourhood/Ward meetings and Town Halls will be cancelled until the end of May, 2020. The City’s Waterwise Gardening seminars scheduled on March 24, 26th and the 31st are cancelled.

Brantford Transit

For the time being, Brantford Transit will continue to operate on a regular schedule. Enhanced cleaning practices of City busses has been implemented.

Additional updates regarding City programs and services, and the continuity of essential services will be shared on a daily basis at brantford.ca/Covid-19. The City of Brantford is grateful to our residents for their co-operation and understanding of the measures the City is putting in place to protect our citizens at this time.

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Media Contact

Maria Visocchi - Director, Communications and Community Engagement
City of Brantford | 519.751.9900 ext. 5754 |  mvisocchi@brantford.ca