WESTLOCK – The Westlock County office is closed to the public due to a potential staff exposure to COVID-19.
A staff member returned from travel abroad with symptoms, went for testing and self-isolated, said Reeve Lou Hall. The county received news of this the morning of March 13 and made the decision by the afternoon.
“All county services will still be delivered as normal at this time, other than direct physical contact with County staff. Services will continue through phone calls, email, facsimile, on-line payments, regular mail and via our drop box at the County office,” according to a county press release.
Hall says the move to shut down the building to the public is intended to keep community members safe. She is not aware of who the individual is, or where they had travelled to.
Test results will take 4-5 days.
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In the meantime, county staff will be following Alberta Health Services recommendations to avoid further exposure or put others at risk. The office will remain closed at least until the test results come in, “probably until the end of next week,” said Hall.
The closure does not affect any public meetings. The next council meeting is scheduled for March 24.
Updates will be posted on the county website.
Currently, there are 23 confirmed cases in the province and 152 across the country, including the Prime Minister’s wife, Sophie Trudeau.
The Alberta government is scheduled to give an update on the state of the province this afternoon.
