The city’s Emergency Manager says the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) is working in close contact with other organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dan Sutherland – who is also Assistant Fire Chief with Kamloops Fire and Rescue – says the focus is on employee safety, while ensuring that daily life in Kamloops continues on as close to normal as possible.

“This is an unusual, uncharted grounds quite frankly for all of us, so we are really working hard, “he said. “We’ve got fantastic people in the room, a majority of them are the senior management team of the City of Kamloops to make sure that we are getting the support to the citizens of Kamloops that they need in this trying time.”

Sutherland says the EOC is comprised of operations, finance, logistics, and planning staff along with communications and safety liaisons.

“We almost have daily discussions with the Thompson Nicola Regional District. We hear regularly from Thompson Rivers University,” Sutherland added.

“We’re working very closely with the province of British Columbia, providing daily updates to them and getting good quality information from them. We’re also working closely of course with senior officials in the Interior Health community.”

He says the city will continue to update residents as and when there is important information to share.

The city had declared a state of local emergency last Friday, but it was suspended by the province today so that things can be coordinated under the provincial state of emergency.

WATCH NOW: What is an Emergency Operations Centre?https://t.co/wF5BjauSPA

The EOC has a core team that meets daily to address emergent issues & plan for business continuity. Our mission is to support the direction of Public Health Authorities & ensure our community is informed

— City of Kamloops (@cityofkamloops) March 25, 2020