CBRM closing recreational buildings, scaling back meetings because of COVID-19

Cape Breton Regional Municipality is closing its recreational buildings and scaling back meetings due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a briefing to council, staff and media on Friday, Mayor Cecil Clarke said the civic centre will remain open, but the Centre 200 arena in Sydney and other CBRM rinks are closed starting on Saturday.

"It means making sure, in a province with no infections right now, that we can be part of controlling that and reducing any negative outcomes," he said.

Municipal employees will not be laid off, he said, but rink staff and cleaning supplies will be redeployed at the civic centre and transit buses and facilities.

Closing the rinks forced the cancellation of the 31st annual Vince Ryan Hockey Tournament, a March Break event that attracts hundreds of hockey players from across Canada and parts of the United States.

"It was not an easy decision, because we looked at the number of people coming in and all the hard work that had been put in place, but also with our own facilities, we had to make the right decision to make sure our resources were deployed, in the case of making sure that transit keeps running and other public facilities are maintained at the highest level of hygiene and cleanliness," Clarke said.

The James McConnell Memorial Library in Sydney is not being shut down, he said, but staff are examining that possibility.

All non-essential municipal meetings are being postponed and council meetings will only be held for essential items, Clarkesaid.

The civic centre will remain open, but hand sanitizing stations have been added and cleaning protocols stepped up.

Clarke said he and chief administrative officer Marie Walsh have both cancelled upcoming personal trips to be available to deal with possible further impacts to public facilities and to avoid spending time in isolation on return.

On Friday, the province announced that Nova Scotia public sector employees who travel outside of Canada will now be required to self-isolate for 14 days before returning to work.

Clarke said municipal departments are examining staffing levels and making plans in case some get infected or have to spend time in isolation.

He said all emergency and essential services are fully operational and a public education campaign will start shortly to keep people up to date.

On Friday, the federal government announced that Canadian ports are closed to cruise ships until July 1.

That will mean the loss of 22 ship calls and up to 32,000 passengers in the Port of Sydney.

"That represents an approximately 10 per cent loss to the municipality of around $250,000, but the cost of a life can't have a price attached to it," Clarke said.

The port has said it's not yet clear whether layoffs will be necessary at its operations, but that discussion will be held on Monday.

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