Michaela Meade
Soaring cases of COVID-19 in the community have negatively impacted Whittlesea and Hume council’s ability to deliver services.
Whittlesea recorded 856 new cases of the virus on Thursday, while Hume recorded 977.
Hume council acting sustainable infrastructure and services director Mark Gallon said the “minor” disruptions to waste collection services were due to recent surging numbers of the Omicron variant.
He said that for the most part, collections were occurring when they were scheduled.
“The majority of collections are still being cleared on the scheduled collection day with a small percentage occurring the following day,” Mr Gallon said.
“We are reminding Hume city residents to simply leave their bins out as normal and our teams will continue to collect rubbish as quickly as possible.
“Council is actioning contingency plans to ensure residents continue to receive essential services.”
Mr Gallon said Hume residents were encouraged to follow the council on Facebook or sign up to council’s Hume eNews to receive the latest updates to service disruptions.
In a post to the City of Whittlesea Facebook page, the council said it, like many industries, was facing staff shortages due to the pandemic.
“We are continuing to deliver critical services however we have had to make some adjustments,” the council said in the post.
“In the next few weeks we may need to reschedule appointments, move some online or change your service days as we work to keep our staff and our community safe, and ensure critical services are able to be maintained.
“We ask for your patience as we work to deliver these important services during these challenging times.”
The council’s customer service centre and planning enquiry counter at the Civic Centre in South Morang will be closed for two weeks from today, January 13.
Residents will still be able to contact the council via phone, email and online.
Details: 9217 2170, info@whittlesea.vic.gov.au or www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au
