Administrators Message May 4th, 2020
We hope that everyone continues to manage as best they can with the current circumstances surrounding COVID-19. We know that our reality has changed immensely over the last month or so and we thank everyone who has been staying at home and doing everything they can to reduce the spread.

At Council we have been working hard with the Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee to respond to the arrangements identified in the State Relief Plan – such as providing support to those that ring the Victorian COVID-19 Hotline on 1800 675 398 for assistance.

This committee is meeting weekly and is made up of external agencies such as the Salvation Army, Red Cross, community houses and our emergency services. They have reported an increase of assistance requests in recent weeks and we are thankful that such services are available for those that need help across our community.

The 50,000 surgical face masks donated by ViPlus to Council are still awaiting delivery but as soon as they arrive the committee will distribute 7,500 to each Gippsland Council and 5,000 to the regional Department of Health and Human Services office who will provide them to medical facilities and essential service providers within the region. We are so grateful that such a needed donation has been offered and we thank ViPlus for their efforts that will support our frontline workers across all of Gippsland.

We also have an internal Relief and Recovery Working Group that has been formed that supports the decisions and advice of the Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee. This working group consists of Council staff who determine the best ways in which we can help through Council’s internal departments.

Having both the committee and working group meeting weekly is a wonderful effort so we would like to thank the external agencies and our Council staff who have been working hard to provide this support to our local community. This is also a timely reminder that if you are being adversely impacted by COVID-19 and need support please contact Council on 5662 9200 where we will be able to provide or connect you with appropriate local assistance for your situation.

The Red Cross has also released COVID CONNECT which is a new national telephone service to help build connections as the pandemic brings a sharp increase in people reporting feelings of social isolation and loneliness. You can register for COVID CONNECT at redcross.org.au or by ringing 1800 733 276 during business hours.

We know that it is tough right now for a lot of people but we hope that you all know we are here ready to assist in any way that we can. We will get through this if we all continue to work together as a community and support each other.

Julie Eisenbise, Christian Zahra AM and Rick Brown – Administrators