COVID-19 Updates (Coronavirus Disease)

The City has developed a COVID-19 Transition Plan to guide us over the next 12-18 months as we follow a strategic path towards a new normal.

This plan is in line with the Province of BC’s Restart Plan and it responds to the Province’s direction to municipalities to prepare a plan outlining a gradual return to modified operations. The City will focus on keeping the number of contacts low by enabling physical distancing, limiting the number of people in City buildings, providing onsite modifications as needed, and continuing with enhanced cleaning protocols.

While it’s important to suppress the transmission rate of COVID-19 and to protect the health care system, it’s also important to get people back to work, to support the economy, and to support local families and our community as we transition through this next phase.

Here is the City’s COVID-19 Transition Plan and the presentation to Council.

City Hall Temporarily Closed to the Public

Your health and safety is important to us, so City Hall is temporarily closed to the public, but open for business. Our online services and staff are available to help you 8:30am-5pm. Find more info about:

• Affected City Services
• Online services
• Building & Permits
• Development Applications
• Contacting City Hall

City’s Essential Services Continue Uninterrupted

• Garbage, green can and recycling collection
• Online services: payments, permit applications and more
• Engineering services
• Bylaw services
• Fire & Rescue Services

Questions or comments? Call 604-985-7761, email info@cnv.org or find department contacts here.

City Events

The City is adhering to the order of the Provincial Health Officer regarding public gatherings. At this time, there will be no events or programs with 50 people or more in our community. While the City’s own festivals and events as well as numerous community events have been cancelled for this spring and summer, there are now many virtual and modified events taking place. Please visit our revised ‘Community Events Calendar’.

Public Consultation

Public consultation events and open houses are temporarily suspended. However, staff are working on a new virtual public hearing process and details will be available soon. Limited online engagement continues via the City’s digital engagement platform, Let’s Talk.

All parks, trails and outdoor City facilities are OPEN, except for Ray Perrault field which remains closed to organized games/practices.

Please follow all public health guidelines, when using City facilities. Remember to keep two metres (six feet) of physical distance between you and other users, and ensure you wash or sanitize your hands before and after use.

The Shipyards - See COVID-19 Programming Guidelines -PDF

We’ve made changes across the City to help provide a more comfortable experience for pedestrians and to support physical distance requirements. Here’s what we’ve done.

To allow space for physical distancing we’ve closed the following spaces to vehicles:

• Wallace Mews: open to cyclists & pedestrians.
• Central Lonsdale: temporarily removed parking at key locations to allow more space between businesses line ups and pedestrians.
• Grand Boulevard 19-23rd St: temporarily closed the northbound lane to vehicles. Open for cyclists.
• West Grand Boulevard Keith Rd to 19th St: temporarily closed the northbound lane to vehicles. Open for cyclists.

To reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 we:

• Automated pedestrian signals at key intersections so you don’t need to touch the signal button to cross the street.
• Provided line up assistance for local businesses to help establish queueing areas that maintain physical distance between those waiting in line and pedestrians passing by.
• Continue monitoring our greenways, high volume pedestrian areas and key intersections and installing signage as needed reminding pedestrians to respect physical distancing requirements.

At the April 20th Regular Council Meeting Staff presented updates on:

1. The City’s response to COVID-19 and the delivery of essential services.
2. The City’s regional response as part of North Shore Emergency Management office.
3. The potential economic impact of COVID-19 on our community & what recovery may look like.

In Response to COVID-19 the City has created three working teams focussed on:

• Internal Coordination (City Hall and all Departments and Services)
• Regional Response (coordinated through North Shore Emergency Management)
• Future Scenario Planning

Tailoring our response this way ensures we remain focussed on delivering essential services to our residents; working with our municipal and regional partners for a coordinated approach; working with the Federal and Provincial governments in response to regulations and guidelines; as well as planning for the City’s future.

Review the staff presentation on the City’s strategic response to COVID-19: Download Report - PDF | View Council Presentation

North Shore Emergency Operations Centre

The City is working with the Districts of North Vancouver and West Vancouver at the virtual Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). This approach allows us to be consistent and to strategically coordinate emergency planning related to COVID-19 across the North Shore.

The virtual EOC is staffed by employees from all three municipalities and offers operational, logistic, planning and financial coordination and support. Social and community impacts are another area of focus in the virtual EOC.

See staff presentation on the North Shore Emergency Management Office’s Role: Download Report - PDF | View Council Presentation

The City’s Future Planning

We’re looking ahead and planning for the possibility of a future that may be quite different from the present. Staff are looking at scenarios based on virus progression and economic factors. By analyzing potential impacts and outcomes based on these scenarios we can better prepare for the City’s future.

Preparing our resiliency involves projecting:

• Social and household impacts
• Economy and business impacts
• Growth and development impacts
• Corporate impacts

We identify our risks and strengths in the context of these scenarios and look at how they may impact prioritization of city work, corporate business planning, service delivery models etc.

See staff presentation on Scenario Planning and Impact Assessment: Download Report - PDF | View Council Presentation

Social Support Resources

Social support resource information related to the COVID-19 pandemic is available at Connect North Shore. The tri-municipal web portal is on the North Shore Emergency Management website and contains contact lists for help with Housing and Shelter, Food, Mental Health, Abuse, Financial, as well as support information for seniors and youth. Volunteer and donation opportunities are also listed on Connect North Shore.

Connect North Shore is operated by staff from the City of North Vancouver and the Districts of North and West Vancouver.