Toronto quarantine hotel to remain open despite COVID-19 outbreak: Toronto Public Health
Posted May 4, 2021 6:25 pm.
Toronto Public Health (TPH) says one of the city’s controversial quarantine hotels will remain open despite a COVID-19 outbreak among staff.
In an update Tuesday night, TPH confirmed 13 cases of COVID-19 at the Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport Hotel in the Highway 27 and Dixon Road area. All of the cases are staff at the hotel.
“The risk to the public remains low as this is a federally designated quarantine facility that is not open for general public use,” TPH said in a release.
Toronto recently issued a Section 22 Order, requiring businesses to report an outbreak of five or more cases over a 14-day period, after which establishments can be ordered shuttered for at least 10 days.
TPH said Tuesday it won’t order the closure of the hotel. “As this facility provides an essential service to keep Torontonians safe, it will not be fully closed,” it said.
A partial closure, which “could apply to the exclusion of a specific shift or work group/team” hasn’t been ordered yet either, TPH said.
RELATED: Multiple employees test positive at quarantine hotel
The hotel is currently being managed the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) which, along with TPH, inspected the premises on Tuesday.
“This inspection found that there is a strong adherence to public health measures and infection prevention and control opportunities for improvement were noted including further reducing lunch room capacity, posting additional signage and centralizing staff screening. The hotel has already complied with all of TPH’s recommendations.”
People travelling into Canada on an international flight are supposed to stay in a government-authorized hotel while waiting on the result of a COVID-19 test taken shortly after landing.
That rule has been in place since the end of February and was brought in as part of the effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
