NORWICH – Mayor Shawn Sastri has issued a State of Emergency declaration for the City of Norwich in regards to the COVID-19 response.

The State of Emergency specifically permits the City to establish mutual aid agreements for police coverage and response in the event of the virus impacting the police department.

“We have no issues at this time, but this is a pre-emptive measure to make sure we will be able to adequately respond since this situation is expected to last for several months,” said Sastri.

County and State mutual aid plans are already in place for fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) that allow for the moving of resources on a day-to-day basis and in the event of an emergency.