The local health unit is advising recent customers of a Tim Hortons restaurant in Colborne to monitor themselves for symptoms after four employees tested positive for COVID-19.
The restaurant at 289 Big Apple Drive was closed on Monday (November 30), with a notice posted on the door advising customers of an “evolving health situation”.
The following morning, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit declared a workplace outbreak after two employees were confirmed to have tested positive for the disease.
Since then, another two employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and the health unit has determined there may be a risk to customers who were served at the restaurant over the last week — although the health unit says the risk is small.
Nonetheless, the health unit is encouraging anyone who was served inside the restaurant or served through the drive-through between November 23 to 30 to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms.
“Although we do not believe customers are at a high risk, we are encouraging anyone who visited the restaurant during the specified dates to self-monitor for symptoms,” says medical officer of health Dr. Lynn Noseworthy in media release issued by the health unit on Wednesday afternoon (December 2). “If anyone does develop symptoms, they are encouraged to get tested and self-isolate while awaiting test results.”
Symptoms of COVID-19 range from mild to severe and may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure to COVID-19. Common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, new or worsening cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, smell/tasting disorder, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or runny nose or nasal congestion.
The health unit states that, while it does not routinely share the location of workplace outbreaks, it’s challenging to complete contact tracing for a food premise.
“Doing case and contact management for a confirmed case or an outbreak is a very detailed and lengthy process,” Dr. Noseworthy says.
“Information is always evolving, and you are always learning more about the situation. When we declared the outbreak yesterday, we did not have the complete picture we now have.”
The health unit says it will now routinely report workplace outbreaks on its website at www.hkpr.on.ca/ and may also share information about a workplace if the workplace requests public notification — even if there is no risk to the public.
