Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Windsor Town Manager William Saunders introduced at the July 13 Town Council meeting the proclamation to terminate the local emergency status that was declared near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The emergency declaration was adopted on April 2, 2020, which was also the night of an emergency called meeting of the Town Council in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saunders noted during the July 13 meeting that the proclamation to terminate the local emergency did not require a council vote but simply needed the mayor’s signature.

In an email interview, he explained what the practical implications of the emergency declaration were to help explain the significance of its termination.

“Primarily, the emergency declaration makes the public aware that the town may be implementing measures that are different than normal, as may refer to public meetings, service delivery and other operations,” he said. “It also puts the town on a different footing, depending on the severity of the event, to follow special orders by the governor, to access emergency funding and/or operate under the Isle of Wight County Emergency Operations Plan.”