Horsham Rural City Council (HRCC) has responded to the increased restrictions on public gatherings aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19.
The Federal Government on Wednesday announced a ban on non-essential indoor gatherings of 100 people or more.
This means that all performances at Horsham Town Hall have been suspended until at least the end of April. However the building will remain staffed and operational.
Based on advice from the Victorian Government, Horsham Aquatic Centre is permitted to remain open, with YMCA staff taking precautionary measures such as increased cleaning and sanitisation throughout the facility. Social distancing will also be enforced and equipment that is deemed to be high-risk has been removed from the gymnasium.
Kalkee Road Children's and Community Hub have some changes to services: supported playgroup has been cancelled indefinitely and immunisation sessions will continue via an appointment/booking system
Meals on Wheels services will continue with Council staff delivering meals to clients.
At this stage the Civic Centre's customer service desks are open, but people are encouraged to do business with Council over the phone or via hrcc.vic.gov.au.
Chief Executive Officer Sunil Bhalla said Council was following State and Federal Government advice by minimising large staff gatherings, reviewing non-essential meetings and events, and encouraging social distancing which includes some employees working remotely.
"We are committed to acting in the best interest of our community and keeping everyone safe," Mr Bhalla said.
"This is a constantly evolving situation and we will review our response daily and adjust as required.
"We will keep the community fully informed as the situation continues to unfold," he said.
The Mibus Centre Library will remain open but has discontinued group program and activities and the Horsham Regional Art Gallery will also remain open however social distancing protocol will be strictly enforced and there will be no school holiday activities at the end of Term 1.
Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange Co-Ordinator Paul Christopher said Wednesday's weekly sheep and lamb sale was a success despite the enforced restrictions on who could attend.
"We had a larger than usual March sale at 22,000 sheep," Mr Christopher said.
"As per the restrictions, the sale was attended only by agents, buyers and transport operators.
"We would like to thank the members of the public who heeded the calls not to be here. And we also thank the small number of people who arrived at the sale and co-operated with our request for them to not attend," he said.
Access to the weekly sales will continue to be restricted until further notice.
Just as a reminder, the best source of current information on COVID19 is:
- the Victorian DHHS Website https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus
- the Federal Department of Health https://www.health.gov.au/
Council will provide advice on the local impact of COVID19 and in particular changes to our council services via updates to our website
