The city of Kamloops has had to temporarily lay off 100 on-call and part-time staff as a result of COVID-19.

That’s according to Mayor Ken Christian, who says the city’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) is still operating to help support the province’s directions, which included a suspension of local states of emergencies – while also ensuring essential services like police, fire, water, sewer, and solid waste continue through this pandemic

The city is still under state the provincial state of emergency, with Christian saying it doesn’t change anything in Kamloops in terms of the measures that are in place.

Most city staff are working from home, and job vacancies will not be filled for the time-being.

Staff say with minimal staffing levels, there will be delays to service requests from citizens, with staff prioritizing the incoming requests based on public and employee safety.

“Bylaw Services, in particular, has received an overwhelming number of calls from concerned residents,” said Christian, in a statement. “While we understand residents’ concerns, Bylaw Officers are only able to provide education, and do not have the authority to issue fines or other enforcement measures.”

“Officers are routinely patrolling the city to educate residents about how and why to implement physical distancing measures. ”

Ahead of Friday’s press conference, Christian says RCMP Supt. Syd Lecky says there has been a 20 per cent increase in property crime since the pandemic started.

The City is also reviewing transit levels with a plan to reduce service levels and the number of people on buses to adhere to physical distancing.