The City of Fort St. John has declared a State of Local Emergency, effective March 24, 2020, in response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

This proactive declaration allows the City to quickly respond to this rapidly evolving situation. Although this declaration provides the City with 9 additional powers, it doesn't mean that we will use all or any of them.

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“A priority of the City of Fort St. John is to ensure that our residents are safe and our economy is robust. We share that priority and many services with our neighbours. Our vision is that Fort St John will be a flourishing community where nature lives, business is prosper, families are active and diversity is celebrated. These are unprecedented times and we find ourselves with limited tools at our disposal to allow for the community to be nimble and respond to unexpected circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 crisis. At some point, hopefully in the near future, we will look back knowing that we did everything we could,” said Mayor Lori Ackerman.

Mayor Ackerman continued, “We will work with our industry and government partners to ensure that people are cared for as humanely as possible while ensuring that every opportunity is taken to allow people to self isolate with their family and support systems. As evidenced by our recent successful BC Winter games we know that our community is amazing. We see our residents caring for each with compassion and providing help to their neighbours through this difficult time. Thank you for that and we ask that as you follow the thoughtful orders given by Dr Bonnie Henry to protect yourself that you remember, we are in this together and together we will flatten the curve.”

Further updates on the City of Fort St. John operations will be provided at fortstjohn.ca/covid19 and shared through the City’s social media channels.

For information on the COVID-19 pandemic, visit the Province of BC website at www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support or BC Centre for Disease Control website at www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19.