Message from the Mayor | COVID-19 update

In these troubling times, I would like to update the community on what the City of Fremantle is doing to address the evolving situation with COVID-19.

In recent days we have learnt about the measures being put in place by the state and federal governments to slow the spread of the virus, including the closure of indoor venues such as pubs, clubs, sporting venues and places of worship and restricting restaurants and cafes to takeaway services only.

Although the coming weeks and months will be difficult, especially for the local businesses affected by the restrictions and their staff, I urge everybody to respect the social distancing measures that are now in place in order to protect the most vulnerable people in our community.

For those businesses impacted by COVID-19 I encourage you to seek advice through the City of Fremantle’s Small Business Capacity Building Program on how to access support offered by the state and federal governments.

For our part, the City of Fremantle is also exploring a range of options to help support local businesses and residents during this difficult period. More details will be announced soon.

Regrettably, a number of our own services and facilities have had to close and many events have been cancelled.

This hasn’t been done lightly. The City is acting on the best advice from health authorities and doing its part to slow the spread of the disease.

Where possible we are putting in place alternative arrangements so people can still access our services online or through other means.

You can also have confidence that important services such as rubbish collections will continue as normal.

The City has created a new page on its website — fremantle.wa.gov.au/covid19 — to provide up-to-date information about its facilities and services. Please visit the website for the latest information and alternative ways to access the City’s services.

We have also launched the Neighbour to Neighbour program to support the most vulnerable people in our community. We are looking for community volunteers who can help people with simple errands, including grocery shopping, dog walking, posting mail or simply checking in with a friendly phone call. Check our website for how you can register.

We are obviously in unchartered waters with COVID-19 and the situation is continuing to change very rapidly. The City is taking regular advice from the state government about the risks of COVID-19 and what is required to slow its spread, and will make adjustments to our services and facilities in line with that advice.

It’s important to get your information from reliable sources, so for updates about COVID-19 I encourage you to visit the state government’s HealthyWA website, follow the HealthyWA facebook page or call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080.

It is also important to remind ourselves that, although there will be difficult times ahead, this situation is temporary.

At some point this will end, life will return to normal and Fremantle will bounce back better and stronger than ever.  

Fremantle has always prided itself on being a welcoming, caring and compassionate community, so now is the time for us to show our true colours.

If everybody remains calm, looks after their neighbours and listens to the advice of the experts then we will all get through this together.

Brad Pettitt Mayor