{"id":15640,"date":"2021-01-05T10:36:36","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T15:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/?p=15640"},"modified":"2021-01-06T09:35:39","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T14:35:39","slug":"health-authorities-to-identify-workplaces-with-significant-covid-19-outbreaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/index.php\/health-authorities-to-identify-workplaces-with-significant-covid-19-outbreaks\/","title":{"rendered":"Health authorities to identify workplaces with significant COVID-19 outbreaks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(January 4, 2021)<\/p>\n<p>By: Sara Mojtehedzadeh, St. Catharines Standard<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">Toronto health authorities will begin naming employers with significant COVID-19 outbreaks, following long-standing concerns about the lack of public reporting on essential workplaces struck by the virus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">After months of demands from worker advocates, as well as the city\u2019s own board of health, details on outbreaks in 11 sectors \u2014 many of them known for precarious, low-wage jobs \u2014 will now be released weekly to the public.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">The data will also identify specific workplaces with large or sustained outbreaks in a bid for greater \u201ctransparency and public accountability,\u201d Mayor John Tory said at a Monday media briefing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"seo-media-query undefined\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">\u201cThis is about providing as much protection as possible to all of the hard-working people who are still going into work in person, to provide for all the rest of us essential goods and services,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">The Star has previously reported on the lack of uniformity across public health units in releasing details about workplace outbreaks, which have resulted in significant numbers of workers falling ill since the start of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">A recent report from the Ontario Health Coalition found workplace outbreaks now \u201cfar outpace the spread in the general public.\u201d Manufacturing had the largest increase in cases, with a 77 per cent spike between mid-November and early December \u2014 compared to 22 per cent in the general population.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">More than 8,600 workers have contracted COVID-19 on the job since March, according to statistics from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, with workers in health care, agriculture and food processing registering the highest number of cases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">But many health units still do not name employers with large-scale outbreaks, citing privacy concerns. As previously revealed by the Star, one outbreak at Toronto bakery chain FGF Brands that saw 184 workers test positive for the virus was not reported publicly by health authorities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">The province\u2019s COVID-19 data shows the number of workplace outbreaks linked to farms, retail, health care and food processing \u2014 but not other sectors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">In September, the Toronto board of health unanimously passed a\u00a0<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a class=\"text-block__link\" style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/news\/gta\/2020\/09\/21\/which-workplaces-are-hard-hit-by-covid-toronto-residents-arent-being-told-the-board-of-health-wants-to-change-that.html\">motion<\/a><\/span>\u00a0calling on the city\u2019s medical officer to release detailed information about workplace outbreaks. On Monday, board chair Joe Cressy said the new public reporting was part of \u201cenhanced measures needed to keep workers safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">\u201cIn a pandemic, information is power. Information can also provoke change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">\u201cIn many ways, the story of this pandemic is also a story of work,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s those heroes, those essential front-line workers, who have often been at the greatest risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">There are currently more than 250 active workplace outbreaks across the province, according to the latest provincial data \u2014 the second-highest source behind care settings. There are currently 16 active workplace outbreaks in Toronto, Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city\u2019s medical officer of health, said Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">Three employers with outbreaks that \u201cpose a significant public health risk\u201d are now named on the city\u2019s website: skin care manufacturer DECIEM, meat processor Sofina Foods and circuit board manufacturer TTM Technologies. The new cumulative data shows warehouses, manufacturing and distribution companies have had the largest number of outbreaks at 132, followed by bars and nightclubs with 41. Food processors have seen 31 outbreaks since the start of the pandemic, and the retail sector has registered 24.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">Deena Ladd of the Toronto-based Workers\u2019 Action Centre said she welcomed greater transparency \u2014 but said stronger workplace protections at the provincial level are essential to containing the virus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">\u201cHiding where these outbreaks are happening is not helping anyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">\u201cThe city is trying to do the best it can under limited powers, but it points to the role of the provincial government to move forward with enforcement that has teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">The head of the food and beverage processing industry\u2019s main trade association admitted there were mistakes during the early part of the pandemic which led to outbreaks at some processing plants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-block-container\">\u201cWe were caught off-guard by the first wave,\u201d said Norm Beal, CEO of Food and Beverage Ontario.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stcatharinesstandard.ca\/ts\/business\/2021\/01\/04\/health-authorities-to-identify-workplaces-with-significant-covid-19-outbreaks.html\">Click here for original article<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(January 4, 2021) By: Sara Mojtehedzadeh, St. Catharines Standard Toronto health authorities will begin naming employers with significant COVID-19 outbreaks, following long-standing concerns about the lack of public reporting on essential workplaces struck by the virus. After months of demands from worker advocates, as well as the city\u2019s own board of health, details on outbreaks [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ohc-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Health authorities to identify workplaces with significant COVID-19 outbreaks - Ontario Health Coalition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"(January 4, 2021) By: Sara Mojtehedzadeh, St. Catharines Standard Toronto health authorities will begin naming employers with significant COVID-19\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/index.php\/health-authorities-to-identify-workplaces-with-significant-covid-19-outbreaks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Health authorities to identify workplaces with significant COVID-19 outbreaks - 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