City of Reading Mayor Eddie Moran held a press conference Friday afternoon to update residents on the city’s COVID-19 response and mitigation efforts. The overal theme of his speech was to calm and reassure residents, local leaders, and city employees that he has taken steps to ensure their safety.
On March 13, Mayor Moran lead a press conference that included State, County and City Council officials to share the collaborative efforts in response to COVID-19. From there, the City took the extraordinary step of issuing a Declaration of Disaster Emergency on March 16, 2020, followed by the decision to close to the public City Hall and other City facilities beginning the next day.
Since that time, the Administration has instituted enhanced cleaning procedures to protect the health and safety of our employees still on site.
Going forward, in an effort to further safeguard our employees, the City will institute a temporary telework policy allowing some employees, as designated by their department director, to work from home in order to implement social distancing so they can continue to work.
“This is yet another step the City is taking to limit the effects and reduce the spread of COVID-19. In the very near future, City staff will receive a detailed written policy outlining guidelines for telework to establish the procedure for implementing a telework arrangement” says Mayor Moran.
For the essential staff that remain in place, Mayor Moran says his administration will continue to clean all facilities, especially high target surface areas including elevators, railings, copy machines, etc.
“We understand everyone is hurting, scared and unnerved by this emergency crisis. Please continue to look to the experts for guidance – CDC, DOH and BerksDES” said Mayor Moran.
“To be as clear as possible, we are committed to our responsibility to serve the public and, for the foreseeable future, the City will continue to pay its employees. We are constantly monitoring the situation and communicating with the Governor’s Office; Federal, State and County officials; as well as union representatives.”
“We will adjust our operations and practices in a way that promotes the health, safety and general welfare of the public and our employees. We thank you for your patience and commitment to the City of Reading. Please stay calm, stay safe and continue to take good care of yourself and your loved ones.”
