Deltans have responded to the call for social distancing, but Mayor George Harvie is asking residents to not be complacent.
Harvie spoke with the Optimist Tuesday morning to provide an update on recent developments within the city.
“I had an interesting three-hour tour over the weekend with my wife in our car,” said Harvie. “I didn’t know what to expect when we started our trip. We first stopped at Fred Gingell stairs and there was nobody at all…totally in compliance. I stopped and talked with a few folks as I did throughout my tour of Delta and they were very supportive of what Delta is doing, the need for it, understand it, very little patience with people that are not on the team yet.
“I listen every day, as we all do, to Dr. Bonnie Henry and how the next two weeks are critical. We have to get everyone on the team. Now is the time to stop thinking that this is unnecessary. I received one email from a resident who said I was too negative all the time, well, I’m sorry, but we have to get moving on this now and get all the people who are not practicing social distancing to do this. We have one chance or else this is going to go on for a long time.”
Call Centre established
Harvie confirmed that the Delta has established a call centre which is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. seven days a week. Residents can call 604-946-4141 to access the services.
The service is for COVID-19 related questions such as city services and programs, latest information on closures, other resources and FAQs, how the city is responding, and bylaw enforcement, etc.
Tickets not needed so far
Harvie said Delta bylaw officers or Delta police have not had to issue any tickets or fines to residents or businesses for not following social distancing and health guidelines.
Council gave final approval to a bylaw amendment Friday afternoon.
The amendment to the current bylaw allows Delta police and Delta bylaw officers to issue bylaw offence notices and municipal tickets with fines of $500 to $1,000 for non-compliance.
“They did issue some parking violations down in Boundary Bay along the access road to Deas Island Regional Park and a lot of these areas stated no parking,” said Harvie. “Again, we ask that the public try to stay away from these areas. I know they are popular, but we will be ticketing for those in non-compliance.”
