Lambton County officially ended its pandemic state of emergency Friday morning after almost two years.
The county, which declared the emergency under Ontario’s Emergency Management and Civil Protection legislation on March 18, 2020, said its officials believe Lambton is now positioned to “respond to COVID-19 within its normal resources and process.”
“Lifting the state of emergency means the county believes it can incorporate the ongoing response to COVID-19 within our day-to-day operations without significant outside assistance,” Warden Kevin Marriott said in a news release.
County officials, though, will continue to monitor the pandemic’s impact on operations, saying Lambton will be able to “escalate its response, should the local situation change.”
Sarnia followed suit later in the morning announcing it had also terminated it’s state of emergency.
Services Lambton County provides its 11 member municipalities include several hit hard during the pandemic, including public health, homelessness programs and its three long-term care homes.
“As we transition to the next phase of the pandemic, I would like to encourage the public to extend compassion and understanding towards those who are adapting to new routines at paces that may be different from our own,” Marriott said.
Lambton County council has been meeting online since the pandemic began but is expected to return to in-person meetings April 6 in the council chambers at the county administrative building in Wyoming.
Stéphane Thiffeault, the county’s manager of corporate services, reminded councilors during this week’s budget session they had previously decided to hold “hybrid” meetings when restrictions lifted, giving council members the option of attending in person or online.
“It will be seamless,” Thiffeault said. “At the end of the day, it’s your choice.”
Whether or not those attending in person will be required to wear face masks will depend on what provincial rules are at the time, he said.
“We are following provincial protocols,” Thiffeault said.