Northfield City Council Declares Local Emergency

From the City of Northfield:

March 18, 2020

The City of Northfield City Council took action “Declaring a Local Emergency” Tuesday evening to allow certain policies and procedures to be waived in order to provide a more rapid response, and manage city operations in accordance with Governor Tim Walz’ Peacetime State of Emergency declaration on March 13, 2020, and the federal government in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak that has infected people worldwide.

Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019, commonly known as “COVID-19,” which is a respiratory disease that can result in serious injury or death, is spreading globally and has been identified by the World Health Organization (“WHO”) as a pandemic.

Mayor Rhonda Pownell signed the emergency order that directs necessary resources to respond to and recover from this pandemic that will likely exceed those regularly dedicated operating resources available within the City. Additional resources may be needed from Rice County, Dakota County, and state and federal sources to assist in effective local response to this pandemic.

The United States Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) and Minnesota Department of Health (“MDH”) have advised that aggressive community mitigation strategies are necessary to slow the transmission of COVID-19, reduce illness and deaths, and limit the economic impacts of the outbreak. Visit www.cdc.gov and www.health.state.mn.us for more information about COVID-19.

Emergency Declaration

This press release was produced by the City of Northfield. The views expressed here are the author’s own.