The City of Sarnia is bracing for the economic fallout from COVID-19.
Mayor Mike Bradley told a community news conference Tuesday that he wants to do everything possible to not lay people off.
"We're no different that any other city," said Bradley. "We are going to have to make some difficult decisions as it relates to seasonal, part-time and other employees."
City CAO Chris Carter said they're preparing a first quarter financial update to be presented to Sarnia council later this month.
He said the city has healthy reserves and there were employment positions not filled before the pandemic hit.
"Some staff are taking some volunteer time off," said Carter. "And also with some of our other methods that we're using, we're hoping that we're going to be able to rebound and continue to provide those essential services in the future, moving forward, once this is all behind us."
Mayor Bradley said how much damage is done to the local economy depends on how long the crisis continues.
"I cannot predict the delinquency rate, I can guess that it's going to be significant, because many of the businesses that we're talking to, a month or two of cash flow missing is too much. Whether these other programs, which I applaud the federal and provincial governments for doing, will make the difference, I don't know," he said.
The 45-minute community news conference, livestreamed on Facebook and broadcast live on CHOK (103.9 FM, 1070 AM), also featured various other officials from Lambton Public Health, Bluewater Health, the city, county, Point Edward, and Aamjiwnaang First Nation. A replay of the news conference is available on the city website.
The health unit was reporting 86 confirmed cases locally as of Tuesday morning including eight deaths with a breakdown on its website showing an 80-20 urban/rural split.
Medical officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade said they've been telling the community from the beginning to presume that the virus is in Sarnia and every other municipality in the county.
Bluewater Health Chief of Staff Dr. Mike Haddad said they have to be very careful when it comes to personal protective equipment (PPE) until the supply chain improves.
"We have enough for a couple of weeks," said Haddad. "I've heard some hospitals across the bridge have basically supplies for four or five days. Nevertheless, we are very cognizant of the worldwide shortage, so we're doing our best to extend the use of what we have and also find ways to use PPEs that are recyclable."
Bluewater Health and Lambton College also announced Tuesday that a 150-bed field hospital is being set up on campus as a further pandemic precaution.
-With files from Colin Gowdy