While some municipalities have been forced to lay off staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Barrie says it has no immediate plans to follow suit.
"The city has not announced layoffs to date," chief administrative officer Michael Prowse told BarrieToday. "Our executive management team is reviewing lost revenues in a number of departments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Laying staff off is a decision we do not take lightly," Prowse added. "We are exploring all options, including the possibility of temporary layoffs."
Numerous city services have been affected by the virus, including the closure of recreational facilities, libraries and theatres.
As of this morning, the province is reporting another 401 confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 2,793 lab-confirmed cases.
Two men, both in their 70s and who had pre-existing medical conditions, have died recently in Barrie from the virus at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH). One of the men was visiting from Alberta. Hospital officials later confirmed the two men were related.
A state of emergency was declared in Barrie on March 23 to deal with the coronavirus.
The city's senior management team has been overseeing the COVID-19 crisis. The emergency control group was activated March 13. The group, which also includes police, fire, hospital and public-health officials, continues to meet on daily.
The City of Orillia announced this week it was laying an unspecified number of employees temporarily. In a media release, it was noted the municipality is taking “a stepped approach in its response to COVID-19, which includes evaluating and scaling back its workforce as required.”
Affected workers in the City of Orillia include environmental services, operations, parks, recreation and culture, clerical and technical employees group.
