Moray Council leaders praise staff in 'unprecedented' crisis
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MORAY Council's leaders have moved to reassure the public over vital services and have praised staff for their efforts during "extremely challenging circumstances".
Leader Graham Leadbitter and depute leader Shona Morrison say the council is putting every effort into rearranging resources to ensure vital services are delivered during the coronavirus health crisis.
Councillors Leadbitter and Morrison have also urged the public to follow advice, avoid panic buying and look out for vulnerable people in their communities.
Cllr Leadbitter said: "Coronavirus is presenting unprecedented challenges for the whole of society, including vital public services. The last time a crisis on this scale was faced was during wartime and there is no one working in public service who has experience of that.
"I cannot stress enough how much effort is being put in by service managers and their teams right across the council to ensure that critical services – from home care to waste collection and much, much more – can be delivered in the most challenging circumstances.
"It is vital for everyone to pull together and support each other. That means looking out for each other, having patience when services are stretched, and many may be short-staffed due to self-isolation or illness.
"Our emergency and NHS services will be under enormous pressure. Please think about how serious something is before contacting them.
"Businesses will be under enormous strain and many folk will find themselves with reduced hours or even no work at all. This is going to be a very tough time for a lot of people."
He urged people to be kind, caring and community-spirited, "when it is needed most".
Cllr Morrison added: "It is incredibly heartening to have witnessed in the last week the stepping up of communities to support the most vulnerable and isolated.
"We will see an unprecedented demand on our services over the coming months so now, more than ever, we will need to rely on those people who know their communities to help where possible to support our services.
"The ensuing months will see our staff going above and beyond what is normally expected of them, often while balancing difficult personal circumstances and having to adapt to a new way of working. For this we are incredibly grateful."
