The town of Altona has taken additional measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

Last week the town shut down public access to the Millennium Exhibition Centre, public works shop and fire hall and suspended all recreation programming.

In the latest move, the landfill office is closed to the public. Individuals and contractors can still access the landfill, but they cannot access the office. Curbside collection will not be impacted.

Mayor Al Friesen says the town's administrative office is also closed effective immediately. "This is an expansion of what we initiated and at this particular point, we are feeling our way along, observing what other jurisdictions are doing as a response. We're here and people can call or email the office or reach out to us on Facebook, but obviously the face-to-face contact will not happen for some time." Administrative staff can also be contacted by telephone or by email.

Meanwhile, the Altona Police Service asks that the public avoid coming to their office for non-urgent matters. Questions and inquiries can be made by telephone and email.

Friesen says social distancing doesn't have to mean a sense of loneliness. "We will, throughout town Facebook page and other ways, try to pull the community together in a variety of ways by making our Facebook page a general store for information or even community happenings that would be different. We don't know what all of those ways are yet and we are inviting people to share their expertise or their suggestions with us."

The mayor says he's encouraged by the way the community has responded to the current crisis. "Businesses are providing grocery delivery, shopping hours have been geared for seniors in some instances and I know of churches have made efforts to provide inspiration ... and moved online to create a presence that way."