Brampton businesses could face charges if not taking necessary action against COVID-19
Published November 18, 2020 at 3:27 pm
At a November 18 conference, Peel’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Lawrence Loh, raised further concerns over the rise of COVID-19 cases in Brampton and discussed the recently implemented Section 22 Order, aimed to help businesses stop the spread of the virus in Peel.
As of yesterday afternoon (November 17), Peel Public Health investigated 12,744 cases of COVID-19 in the City of Brampton; 1,874 of which are active, 10,771 have recovered and 99 have passed away, announced Loh during the conference.
“We’re at approximately 200 cases a day in Brampton. This deeply concerns me,” said Loh, adding that if even 10 per cent of individuals with current active cases require hospitalization, hospitals will continue to be challenged.
“I remain concerned about Brampton and the overall challenges that we face.”
Loh went on to state that he has always been clear about Brampton’s picture being largely “driven by disparity.”
“I know that Brampton residents produce and provide the necessities on which everyone else relies. Bramptonians are taking on risks in this pandemic to maintain everyone else’s safety and standard of living,” said Loh.
“They work in workplaces where people are unable to work from home and where if precautions aren’t taken, some workers are vulnerable.”
Effective Nov. 16, the Section 22 Order, which was issued under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, came into effect.
This order mandates employers to follow legislation, implement employee protections and cooperate with outbreak investigations when outbreaks occur in their workplaces.
Business owners and operators who fail to take necessary action to prevent or stop the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, will now face a fine of $5,000 per day.
“We have seen too many businesses refuse to cooperate with our investigations,” said Loh, urging the public to cooperate with public health investigations.
“Remember, the cost of a few days of sick leave pales in comparison to total business closures or worse, community closures due to spread.”