OIC: It’s business as usual for now but plans being put in place to ensure essential services are maintained

Orkney Islands Council says business will remain as usual for as long as possible but they continue to plan and prepare for the future amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Interim chief executive John Mundell says it may become necessary to prioritise the delivery of the most essential services, including caring for the most vulnerable people in the community.

“That might mean that other services are provided more slowly or stop altogether,” Mr Mundell warned.

In line with national guidance, school closures will not take place at present, but school trips outwith Orkney will be cancelled.

Detailed planning has been taking place over recent weeks to ensure the council can respond as effectively as possible in the event of Covid-19 cases in Orkney.

Mr Mundell said: “The situation is unprecedented and changing rapidly. That means we will continue to plan and prepare for the weeks ahead, working closely with our NHS partners and following national guidance on public health.

“Our aim is to ensure the resilience measures we have in place best meet the needs of our local community and minimise disruption as far as possible to the services we provide.”

There has been widespread concern regarding visiting cruise ships and the OIC has faced criticism for not shutting its ports.

Council leader James Stockan moved to reassure the Orkney public.

He said: “Elected members met our senior management team to review the extensive steps already taken to prepare for the likely impact on Orkney of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I believe the organisation is well prepared to respond effectively to what is a fast-changing situation.

“I am aware there is concern in our community about visits to Orkney by cruise ships. No other port in Scotland has stopped such visits and we are following national guidance on this.

“We have had port health procedures in place for many years for dealing with cases of infection aboard ships of all kind. These procedures are aimed at preventing infection coming into the country.”

All cruise ships have been asked to provide a maritime declaration of health before visiting Orkney, whether or not they have any illness on board.

Cruise companies are already well underway with cancelling voyages.

The council says if there was a suspected case of Covid-19 aboard a ship, the council’s port health and NHS Orkney’s public health teams would work in conjunction with Health Protection Scotland and the Scottish Government to decide on the best course of action to take.

If a situation of this kind arose, the most likely outcome is that the ship would be redirected to a port on the Scottish Mainland close to more specialist health facilities, OIC adds.

Councillor Stockan added: “Although there has been a focus on cruise ships, people do of course travel to and from Orkney by other means — and that makes it very difficult to prevent the spread of the virus into the county.

“This makes it all the more important that we as a council — and our wider community — do all that we can to reduce the potential impact on us all.”

To help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and to protect local communities as far as is practicable, OIC is only allowing travel by staff and elected members to meetings and training events on the Scottish Mainland in exceptional circumstances.

In Orkney, councillors and staff will not be attending community council and other public meetings.