City closing some Flamborough facilities, programs to fight Omicron

Thestar.com
December 17, 2021

The City of Hamilton is closing some facilities and cancelling some programs -- including in Flamborough -- to redeploy approximately 100 staff to help with COVID-19 vaccination to curb the spread of Omicron.

The Carlisle arena and Flamborough Seniors Centre will be among the slate of facilities and programs closed from Dec. 18 to Jan. 10, the city announced in a media release Dec. 16.

“These closures are necessary for the city to assist with the operations in our vaccination clinics and efforts as we begin to expand booster dose vaccination capacity as soon as possible,” the release said.

The complete list of closures includes:

Hill Park Recreation Centre
Winona Community Centre
Sir Winston Churchill Recreation Centre
Jimmy Thompson Memorial Pool
Dundas Lions Memorial Community Centre
Ancaster Rotary Centre
Rosedale Arena
Carlisle Arena
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Recreation Centre (already closed)
Ryerson Recreation Centre (already closed)
Sackville Hill Seniors Recreation Centre
Ancaster Seniors Achievement Centre
Flamborough Seniors Centre
Dundas Senior Citizen’s Club
Seniors’ Centre Without Walls programming
All museums will be closed except for the Dundurn National Historic Site. As well, the city will be suspending all return-to-workplace efforts and a new return-to-work date will be shared in 2022.

“It is vital that everyone, including those who have already received their first and second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, follow public health guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and variants in our community,” Mayor Fred Eisenberger said in the release. “We know the devastating impacts if we do not act swiftly, and we are doing everything we can to protect residents and beat this virus.

“Every Hamiltonian plays a pivotal role and holds a great responsibility in helping keep our community healthy and safe.”