AS coronavirus restrictions begin to ease across the region, one council is looking to impliment a "traffic-light alert" system to reopen its facilities.
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Gunnedah Shire Council will begin reopening its facilities by throwing the doors open to its council building on Elgin Street, the Gunnedah Shire Library, Gunnedah Visitor Information Centre and Gunnedah Bicentennial Arts Gallery, pending the release of public health orders.
Both facilities will have changed restrictions, as the library will only allow 15 customers in at a time, while the council building's operating hours will be changed to 9am to 4pm for additional cleaning.
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The council's general manger Eric Groth said each facility would have a "traffic-light alert" system to indicate whether it was open, open with conditions or closed.
"We are taking a considered approach to reopening council facilities to the public, with the health and safety of our staff and community at the forefront of all decisions," Mr Groth said.
"Following the release of a public health order, it is a matter for council's to decide what should be open and the conditions to be applied.
"Factors to be considered include the size of the space, number of visitors, the needs of stakeholders using a facility and safety of both staff and the public."
Mr Groth said each of the council's facilities would be treated individually and would have their own guidelines in place.
"Given recent announcements from the NSW Government, Gunnedah residents can expect to see a return to face-to-face services at locations like the Gunnedah Shire Library and the administration building from Monday, June 1," he said.
"This will be a cautious reopening, and it won't be pre-Covid-19 business as usual. Social distancing protocols, hand hygiene stations and visitor limits will be part of our new normal.
"We are encouraging the community to put the safety and well-being of all, and particularly the vulnerable, in the community first by continuing to make payments and enquiries online or by phone wherever possible.
"This will help limit the risk of infection."
Mr Groth said the whole community had a role to play in helping maintain social-distancing measures.
"We know the Gunnedah community is eager to get back into their regular routines, but we must continue to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community even as business reopens," he said.
"We thank the community for adapting to new ways of conducting business with us, and for their patience as we all continue to navigate a complex situation."
