News Release - April 15, 2020

COVID-19 Update for Parksville Residents

The City of Parksville continues to ask residents to comply with provincial health orders which includes keeping a physical distance of two metres away from others when in public. The City wishes to thank residents for taking proactive actions to help stop the spread of COVID-19 while supporting the community during this challenging time.

At this time, our trails, parks and parking lots remain open. As you are aware, we have increased the presence of staff at local parks and public spaces throughout the City to remind the public to following distancing requirements. The weather is forecast to stay warm and sunny and we believe a reminder is necessary to encourage all residents to remain fully committed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our community and to ensure our public spaces remain open to be enjoyed while following the rules.

Here's what you can do:

• Limit activities outside your home; stay home as much as possible. Avoid non-essential trips and when you do go out, practice physical distancing, especially in grocery stores or other indoor spaces.
• Walk in your neighbourhood or choose trails that are less popular and avoid going out at peak times when parks and trails are busy. Walk in single file when approaching people coming towards you to ensure proper distancing.
• Follow proper hygiene as directed - wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your face and cough into your sleeve or tissue.
• Practice social distancing by socializing virtually; there are many options to connect virtually with others.
• Do not go out in public if you sick or returning from a trip.
• Limit your contact with people who are higher risk such as those with health conditions or older.
• Should you see others not complying with the public health officer's orders should report as follows:

City of Parksville bylaw@parksville.ca 250 954-4650

Island Health HPES.Parksville@viha.ca 250 947-8222

Here's what the City is proactively doing:

• Utility payments have been deferred to June 30.
• City offices are closed to the public and City meetings are closed to attendance by the public. Meetings may be viewed from webstreaming, live or archived.
• In partnership with the Town of Qualicum Beach, we are operating a Level 2 Emergency Operation Centre to ensure a coordinated response and continued delivery of services.
• All playgrounds in the City are closed and Community Park sports fields, racquet courts, lacrosse box and skateboard park are closed. Springwood Park sports fields, tennis courts, batting cage and off-leash dog park are closed to use by the public.
• Washrooms in Foster Park, Community Park and Springwood Park remain open with reduced hours of 7.30 am to dusk, in order to support additional sanitization efforts.
• Remote access has been provided to key staff allowing them to work productively from home.

Garage Sales

Spring cleaning and annual garage sales go together; however, garage sales should not be held nor should you attend garage sales when COVID-19 orders are in place. Garage sales are inconsistent with provincial orders to practice physical distancing, to stay at home and to restrict non-essential travel. During COVID-19, common sense rules apply to garage sales and buying and selling individual items online for pickup also has risks as there is no way to know if the seller has been exposed to COVID-19.

Parksville Fire Drive-bys for Birthday Memories

The Parksville Volunteer Fire Department would love to help celebrate birthdays. We recognize that living day-to-day with restrictions resulting from COVID-19 orders is stressful and challenging and when we add an important birthday into the mix, it becomes even more difficult for families wishing to celebrate an important milestone with friends and family.

To help you celebrate in a special way, Parksville Fire members are offering to drive-by your home with a fire truck to recognize birthdays for children twelve and under and for young-at-heart seniors 75 and older. Drive-bys could be subject to delay should fire/rescue incidents occur during your time and are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Here's what we need from residents of the Parksville Fire Protection Area to reserve a drive-by:

• Email your request to fire@parksville.ca
• Include birthday person's name, age, address (12 and under/75 and older)
• Day and time - we do prefer daytime drive-bys due to staff availability (evenings can be arranged).

City Operations

City services continue to operate and with our offices closed to the public, please contact us by phone or email. Our main phone number is 250 248-6144 and email info@parksville.ca. Direct department contact information is posted on the City's website.

Signup for Emergency Management Oceanside Enews

Emergency Management Oceanside is a partnership between the City of Parksville and Town of Qualicum Beach to provide emergency support and disaster service to residents of the Parksville-Qualicum Beach area. We are offering an EMO Enews which will include updates about COVID-19 as well as emergency preparedness info for the Oceanside region. Please sign up at EmergencyOceanside.ca.

For more information:

Deb Tardiff, Manager of Communications
dtardiff@parksville.ca; 250 954-3073