Today, the City of Toronto Chief Public Health Officer provided new instructions for essential businesses in the City of Toronto that are permitted to be open under the Reopening
Ontario Act. In the Province of Ontario, Construction activities or projects and related services that support construction activities or projects, including demolition services and land surveyors, have been deemed essential and will remain open. Effective immediately, all persons responsible for a business or organization in the City of Toronto must implement the following measures: Immediate Notification to Toronto Public Health:
Immediately notify Toronto Public Health at 416-338-7600 as soon as you become aware of two or more people who test positive for COVID-19 within a 14-day interval in connection with your workplace premises.
If two or more people test positive for COVID-19 within a 14-day interval in connection with your workplace premises, employers must:
Provide contact information for a designated contact person at the workplace premise and ensure that person is readily available to communicate with Toronto Public Health and implement any additional measures immediately as required by Toronto Public Health.
Ensure that accurate and updated contact information for all workers is available to be produced to Toronto Public Health within 24 hours of request in support of case management and contact tracing requirements for COVID19.
Notify the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development and/or other relevant government authorities.
Cooperate with infection prevention and control personnel from Toronto Public Health including allowing entry into the workplace premise for inspection and to support enhanced infection prevention and control measures and recommendations.
Infection Prevention Measures
Ensure hand sanitizer and hand-washing facilities are provided in work and rest areas. Hand sanitizer with 60-90% alcohol content is recommended.
Implement rigorous and frequent environmental cleaning in all high-touch areas and those areas accessible to the public, including washrooms, check-out counters, concession stands, and other high-touch surfaces, such as doorknobs, elevator buttons.
Conduct or have the property owner or landlord conduct a regular review of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to ensure they are functioning well.
Minimize instances of more than one individual in a vehicle for driving associated with work. If unavoidable, ensure face coverings are worn in the vehicle (preferably medical masks) and drive with the windows open.
Ensure that physical distancing of workers takes place by at least two (2) metres throughout the workplace and during eating and rest periods (e.g., lunchrooms, change rooms, washrooms). Install one-way walkways to reduce close physical interactions.
Implement physical barriers, such as plexiglass, when physical distancing is not possible. Physical distancing is always preferable to the use of barriers.
Supports for Workers
In order to encourage forthright reporting of COVID-19 symptoms or contact among employees, ensure that all employees are aware of income replacement and workplace-related benefits they are entitled to if they have to isolate due to symptoms of COVID-19, being tested for COVID-19 or being a close contact of someone with COVID-19.
To the extent that anything in these Instructions conflicts with other applicable Provincial legislation or directives, those Provincial requirements prevail. Where conflicts do not exist, these Instructions are additional to any applicable Provincial requirements.
Visit Ontario’s COVID-19 website to learn more about how the province continues to protect Ontario's people from COVID-19.
If you have questions about health and safety, please visit the OGCA COVID-19 webpage
