All City of Nanaimo recreation facilities will shut down as of Monday, March 16 at 6 p.m. due to the escalating COVID-19 health crisis. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

COVID-19 crisis

City of Nanaimo shutting down all recreation facilities

Mar 16, 2020 | 12:40 PM

NANAIMO — All City of Nanaimo recreation facilities will be closed as of Monday, March 16 at 6 p.m.

The City made the announcement shortly after Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry ordered all gatherings of 50 or more people be cancelled due to the escalating COVID-19 health crisis.

Closing all rec facilities impacts thousands of daily users to the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre, Ice Centre, Beban Park Recreation Centre, Oliver Woods Community Centre and other facilities.

All registered rec program, including day camps and drop-in activities, are cancelled, noted a City of Nanaimo news release. All facility rentals are also cancelled until further notice.

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The City’s director of parks, recreation and culture Richard Harding said full refunds will be available for all cancelled programs. He said closing their rec facilities has a “profound impact”, noting 1,000 people use the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre on a busy day.

Harding said their parks and trails remain open, while outdoor washroom facilities will also remain open during operational hours.

Harding said no full-time parks and rec employees are impacted beyond not having classes to instruct, but said their contract workers could be be impacted.

At a news conference on Monday afternoon, City CAO Jake Rudolph said today’s closures are the first step in a plan designed to provide City operations with layers of protection.

“We are developing a plan should we need to sequentially close some of our other facilities including City Hall, SARC building or even the entrance to the police building where the public is coming and going,” Rudolph said.

The planned Council meeting Monday night will proceed, however the public is asked to stay away and participate online instead of attending in person.

“We’re deciding to cull back some of our interactions with the public and ask people to go virtual,” Rudolph said. “We’re going to roll back and not have those meetings starting now, unless they’re absolutely essential.”

Rudolph stressed core services will continue as normal with the City’s planning focused on delivering water, sewer and garbage collection uninterrupted.

“City Hall is one thing, rec centres are another, our field operations are another,” Rudolph said. “We’re in uncharted territory here so we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect staff from any exposures to situations that would make us unable to deliver on those essential services.”

Mayor Leonard Krog spoke on public information and panic buying, imploring Nanaimo residents to remain calm and not act out of fear.

“This is not the time to panic and rely on unsubstantiated comments that are made by people frankly that have no knowledge or no interest in ensuring public safety and that the truth is not going to be a victim of this crisis,” Krog said.

On Monday morning, Dr. Henry announced seven new COVID-19 cases on Vancouver Island and 103 cases in total province-wide.

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