NEWS RELEASE
MUNICIPALITY OF GREY HIGHLANDS
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On Jan. 3, 2022, the Province of Ontario moved into a modified Step Two of its Roadmap to Reopening to deal with recent trends that show an alarming increase in COVID cases, especially related to the Omicron variant. The municipality of Grey Highlands immediately responded by modifying operations in response to provincial mandates, which included the closure of all Municipal recreational facilities and public buildings.
The Municipality has an obligation to ensure continuity of operations by providing critical services to the public, including water, wastewater, waste management, and road maintenance.
As dictated by Grey Bruce Health Unit, employees of businesses are expected to remain at home if they exhibit symptoms of COVID, especially in light of the highly contagious nature of this new strain. As a result, municipalities across Grey County, including the Municipality of Grey Highlands, are already experiencing significant levels of staff absences due to positive COVID tests and/or exposure.
In order to maintain continuity of operations for essential services, the municipality may need to modify operational levels and/or service hours to ensure these services continue to be available to the public.
Due to staffing absences, and out of necessity to preserve continuity of essential service, the municipality of Grey Highlands (in consultation with the municipality of Chatsworth), will be modifying hours at the Markdale-Holland Waste Disposal Site effective immediately. The site will only be open on Mondays and Fridays for the month of January. The public will still be able to access services on regular days of operation at the Osprey Site on Saturdays and the Artemesia Site on Sundays, as per usual. No disruption to curbside pick-up is anticipated.
During these unprecedented times, and in light of the alarming number of new cases of COVID-19 across the region, the municipality is taking every precaution available to protect the health and safety of the public and our staff, while at the same time being committed to ensuring continuity of service for our residents.
We thank you for your patience and understanding as we deal with the latest implications of COVID in Grey Highlands.
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