Services including bin collections, gritting, emergency housing repairs being protected during coronavirus

20 March 2020

Essential Aberdeen City Council frontline operating services are being protected during the coronavirus period.

Resilience has been worked into operations which could see staff relocated or shared doing similar duties among other services.

The action is being taken to help minimise the spread of coronavirus and ensure core services are being carried out. Numbers of staff have reduced as people with medical conditions or other special circumstances are following Scottish Government advice to self-isolate.

The core services include gritting as road surface temperatures are still going to about 0C overnight, traffic coordination and traffic lights to assist emergency services, emergency repair work and health and safety maintenance to council homes and properties, collection of recycling and waste bins from households, ensuring a capacity of HGV-licensed drivers, crematorium and burial services, essential janitorial and school meal provision services, and essential health, environmental protection and trading standards services.

To ensure these core services can be carried out over the coming weeks, other work will be reduced or is stopped meantime. This includes planned road repairs (excluding emergency works), special refuse collections also known as bulky uplifts (excluding where there is a fire risk in multi storeys), communal recycling and waste bins, planned repair or maintenance works to council homes, and reduced grass cutting and gardening work. All libraries across the city have now closed.

While cremations will continue to take place, no new bookings for chapel services at Aberdeen Crematorium are being taken from Monday to help minimise the spread of coronavirus. There will only be City Council staff at the Aberdeen Crematorium building.

For crematorium services already booked for next week, people will be asked to adhere to Scottish Government advice about social distancing and self isolating.

Actions are also being taken to consider the health, safety and well-being of both tenants and residents who are self-isolating, and for operational staff who are in public-facing roles.