Delta is requiring local stores take steps to ensure that groceries and other vital supplies are available to everyone for the during of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter to store managers issued Friday, March 20, Mayor George Harvie issued two orders under Delta’s local state of emergency to help ensure all residents can find food and medicine enough to last them through the current crisis.
Effective immediately, Harvie asked stores to set aside time every day for seniors and other people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 to shop separate from from the general public.
The mayor also asked stores to discourage overbuying of all goods — particularly meat, dairy, bread and medication — and to limit the quantity of “key items” that a single person may purchase in one day “so that those who cannot afford to buy in bulk have the opportunity to purchase these items.”
“I acknowledge and appreciate the many stores that have already moved in this direction,” Harvie wrote. “We share the goal of providing great service to the community and want to ensure everyone is able to safely purchase the goods they need at your store.”
Harvie added that city bylaw inspectors will be following up to ensure compliance with the letter.
RELATED: COVID-19 precautions ‘not optional,’ B.C.’s Dr. Bonnie Henry warns (March 20, 2020)
On Thursday, March 19, the city declared a local state of emergency, a move that gives Mayor George Harvie additional powers to enforce Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s verbal order to limit public gatherings and practice social distancing.
The city has begun taking action against businesses that refuse to abide by the Provincial Health Officer’s directions, including closing the business and suspending its business licence.
“These are challenging times for residents and businesses in our community. By declaring a local state of emergency, we have additional abilities to protect the community. I have asked our bylaws department to enforce closures on some businesses that are not following the direction of our Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry,” Harvie said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
That same day, Delta bylaw inspectors suspended the business licence of Bikram Yoga Delta on Scott Road after the owner refused to voluntarily cancel classes in light of the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak.
READ MORE: Delta suspends business licence of studio claiming hot yoga kills COVID-19 (March 20, 2020)
For more information about the city’s response to COVID-19 and its impact to city programs, services and events — plus precautions to take to lessen the chance of contracting the virus as well as links to the Fraser Health, Health Canada, HealthLink BC and BC Centre for Disease Control websites and resources for local businesses — visit delta.ca/coronavirus.
RELATED: B.C. COVID-19 cases jump by another 77, another care home affected (March 20, 2020)
SEE ALSO: COVID-19: B.C.’s top doctor bans dine-in guests at restaurants across province (March 20, 2020)
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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