The last week has been extraordinarily difficult for the world and in the last few days, even more difficult as the coronavirus continues to evolve closer to home.
City of Armadale Mayor Ruth Butterfield said “the health, safety and wellbeing of our local community, customers and our staff is our priority. All of us are impacted in one way or another, but this is not a time to panic. This is a time for calm, deliberate action – for both the health of our community and our staff.
“In line with government directives, the City has cancelled all City organised events involving gatherings over 500 people. At this stage this includes the following events; Armadale Arts Festival, Minnawarra Art Awards, NAIDOC Celebrations, Outside the Frame (Youth Art Awards) and the City's Urban Forest Strategy Workshop.
“We are committed to supporting government efforts in response to reducing the spread of the coronavirus and as a further precautionary measure the City has made the decision to close the Armadale Fitness and Aquatic Centre (AFAC) and Armadale Arena until further notice, effective from midnight 18 March 2020 for a duration of four weeks which will reassessed at that point in time.
Memberships and payments will be suspended with effect from midnight tonight, including Swim School.
“We believe we are taking every possible action to keep our community safe, especially the elderly and more vulnerable people. It’s the right thing to do given the amount of people that move through our recreation facility on a daily basis. Memberships and the associated direct debits, will be suspended so that people are not financially penalised.
Community bookings of City facilities such as halls and parks will proceed as normal, but should groups wish to withdraw their bookings they may do so with no penalty. Users are reminded they must comply with government directives regarding the limitation on numbers of people at such gatherings.
At this stage the Armadale, Seville Grove and Kelmscott Libraries will remain open and City Council meetings will continue to be held.
“I want to assure everyone that essential services such as waste services, maintenance of roads and parks will continue to be delivered at this point in time.
“We understand the decision to cancel events and temporarily close our aquatic centre and gym will have impacts on our community and staff. We apologise for the inconvenience this will cause and thank you for your understanding during this very challenging time,” said Mayor Butterfield.
The City, like other government agencies, is receiving regular advice and updates from the WA and Federal Departments of Health on Australia's COVID-19 status and guidelines for response.
We remind our community to follow the guidance of the Health Departments with regard to precautions around COVID-19.
For up to date information regarding City operations as this situation evolves, please refer to the City of Armadale's website or facebook page.
For up to date information regarding Coronavirus, please visit health.wa.gov.au.