Coronavirus resources for workplaces

Owners/operators of child care centres can consult our resources for child care centres page for our guidance document that supports – but does not replace – the advice, guidelines, recommendations, directives or other direction of provincial Ministries. For more details information and operational guidance during COVID-19, read the Ministry of Education’s Operational Guidance During COVID-19 Outbreak Child Care Reopening.

Owners/operators of summer camps can consult the Summer Camp Guidance Document for information that supports – but does not replace – the advice, guidelines, recommendations, directives or other direction of provincial Ministries. For more details information and operational guidance during COVID-19, read the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Guidance: Summer Day Camps.

Child care centres should continue to monitor for new guidance from the Ministry of Education or Ministry of Health related to child care centres.

For more details visit the Coronavirus resources for schools and child care centre page.

General principles (applicable to any setting)

• Close contact with immediate household members only
• Distance and mask with everyone else
• Outside is safer than inside
• Stick to smaller groups. Smaller is safer.

More specific advice, applicable to fitness and sports settings

• Ensure active screening for employees using the Screening Tool for Workplaces (Businesses and Organizations) before their shift
• Employees and patrons should be encouraged to self-monitor by checking for COVID19 symptoms before coming to the facility, and stay home even they show any symptoms, even if they are mild
• Consider expanding online offerings (e.g. online fitness classes)
• Consider physical distance greater than 2 metres (6 feet) for fitness activities with high intensity (e.g. rapid inhalation, deep exhalation) and/or range of movement (e.g. dance fitness, medicine ball or kettlebell exercises)
• At a minimum, exercise squares/circle for people to move about should be at least 2 metres (6 feet) apart, edge-to-edge, so people exercising within those spaces do not have an opportunity to get closer than 2 metres (6 feet) to others within their spaces
• Ensure good ventilation and bring in fresh air
  • Bring in fresh air by maximizing the outdoor air ratio of the facility's heating, venting and air conditioning (HVAC) system settings or by opening windows
  • If this is not possible or practical for the whole facility, focus them in places where crowding may be an issue and areas used for group exercise classes
  • Avoid recirculation of air as far as practically possible
• Ensure sufficient contact time for disinfectant products
  • In addition to using disinfectant products that have a Drug Identification Number (DIN) and have been approved by Health Canada, ensure sufficient contact time for the disinfectant products being used
  • A product with a longer contact time will require more waiting time between users, so choosing a product with a shorter contact time that is appropriate for the surfaces being disinfected, will ensure an effective disinfection between users
• No shouting, no loud music
  • Instructors should consider the use of microphones to support physical distancing and avoid the need for raising their voices or shouting
  • Patrons should not be permitted to sing along to the music or shout back at the instructor

Continue to check the Government of Ontario Guidance for facilities for sports and recreational fitness activities during COVID-19 for the most recent information.

Review COVID-19 guidelines for re-opening restaurants and food services. 

• Guidance for Food Premises (Ministry of Health)
• Resources to Prevent COVID-19 in the Workplace (Ministry of Labour)
• Restaurant and Food Service: Guidance for Health and Safety (Ministry of Labour)

Review COVID-19 guidelines for mobile food premises and temporary food vendors.

• Resources to Prevent COVID-19 in the Workplace (Ministry of Labour)
• Restaurant and Food Service: Guidance for Health and Safety (Ministry of Labour)

1. The testing lab notifies the responsible public health unit of each positive case of COVID-19.

2.  Public Health staff then follow-up with the individual case to:

• let the person know that they tested positive and to answer any questions they may have
• advise them of the need to self-isolate for a specified period of time
• try to determine how they may have been exposed to COVID-19
• determine the places they went while infectious (e.g., to work or public places) and who their close contacts were. If close contacts are identified, Public Health will contact them and anyone else who we may need to speak with to assess risk to others (e.g., their employer)

3. Public Health staff will then follow-up with close contacts to let them know of the situation, to confirm if they were a close contact, and if so, to advise them to immediately self-isolate for 14 days following the last date of exposure to the case.  

They will also give them information on how to self-monitor for symptoms, and what to do if they develop symptoms over the 14 days. Due to the way in which COVID-19 spreads to others (through respiratory droplets), only close contacts of the person are at an additional risk. Public Health will therefore only call close contacts.

There is now community spread of COVID-19 in the Region of Waterloo, so all interactions should be treated as a potential risk of exposure. If a person was at work while infectious, Public Health staff will determine if they posed any additional risk to the workplace than what exists in the general community.

Please Note: not all cases result in exposures. A transient interaction (e.g., walking past someone who tested positive) does not pose an increased risk.  There is also no increased risk of exposure if the person was not at work while infectious.  

Public Health will consult with the employer if additional information is needed about the individual (e.g., to confirm their close contacts or to clarify details that the employee cannot provide) or if any other measures need to be taken by the workplace or staff to reduce the risk of transmission.

It is important to note that Public Health:

• is required by law to respect the privacy of the person infected
• will only disclose a positive case to an employer if it is needed to manage the exposure risk to others