City’s swim and sport centres and libraries to close tomorrow

THE City of Greater Geelong will close several of its public facilities from close of business tomorrow until at least April 1 to reduce social contact in an attempt to prevent the local spread of coronavirus.

The City has decided to close public access to:

• Swim, sport and leisure centres (Leisurelink, Waterworld, Splashdown, Bellarine Aquatic and Sport Centre, Kardinia Pool and Lara Pool)
• Sport and recreation stadiums (The Geelong Arena, Barwon Valley Activity Centre, Corio Leisuretime Centre)
• Potato Shed
• National Wool Museum, and
• The Carousel.

Employees and tenants will continue to have access to the listed facilities.

The city will continue to provide general customer service, but will no longer offer the services over the counter.

The following services will now be offered by phone and online:

• Customer Service – including building services and statutory planning services, and
• Visitor Information Centres.

The decision about the impact on these services will be reviewed by the end of March.

Swim, Sport and Leisure memberships will be immediately suspended.

The city’s action in is line with the declaration of a State of Emergency in Victoria by the Victorian Government on Monday, and are being guided by health advice and its Influenza Pandemic Response Plan 2020.

The plan has been recently updated in accordance with the state’s plan and with consideration to the coronavirus pandemic.

Potential actions regarding the city’s services and facilities will be reviewed as more information comes to hand.

“This is an unprecedented move, but it is vital that we aim to ‘flatten the curve’ and minimise the spread of the outbreak,” Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher said.

“We appreciate the inconvenience to our community members and recognise that the disruptions are not ideal.

“However, all of our decisions are focused around doing what is best for the health of our community, volunteers and employees.

“We are considering a number of measures to support our community and businesses in the municipality.

“We will keep a regular stream of information about how we can help and what changes are being put in place.

“We greatly appreciate the support and community effort to address the pandemic.”

The City has established a ‘Coronavirus Support’ page, which includes information and details on the impacts to events, facilities and City services across the region. It can viewed at geelongaustralia.com.au.

The Geelong Regional Library Corporation (GRLC) will close all library branches and mobile libraries tomorrow (at the usual branch closing time) until at least April 14.

During this time, overdue fines from the GRLC will be suspended for the immediate future.

If you have items due for return within this period, you can renew items online or return items via one of the branch external return chutes which are open 24/7. You can also contact your local branch directly by phone.

Health-related advice and resources regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) can be found at dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus.