Vernon residents can be assured core services like police, fire and water will be properly staffed, in the event of major flu outbreak. The city has approved a new plan for dealing with pandemics like the H1N1 virus. Emergency preparedness coordinator Brent Watson says the funding is tied into the province. "If we were to get into a pandemic situation, we would declare a local state of emergency and in that case the provincial emergency program funding would come into effect and we'd be looking to the province to reclaim a vast majority of our costs."Watson says staff absenteeism rates could be as high as 50 percent in the event of an outbreak.He points out the plan doesn't cover Vernon residents which is Interior Health's responsibility but lays out what the city's core services are, and how those will be provided in the event of a pandemic.
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Plan can be found at Agenda Package - 29 MB CITY OF VERNON PANDEMIC PLAN (P. 185 -259)
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