The local health unit is asking anyone who dined at the Swiss Chalet restaurant at 70 Strathy Road in Cobourg between Thursday, March 25th and Monday, April 5th to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms.
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit declared an outbreak at the restaurant last Wednesday (April 7), with six cases associated with the outbreak so far.
The health unit’s notice only applies to people who dined inside the restaurant, not to those who picked up takeout orders. Although the health unit’s notice extends to April 5th, the province-wide shutdown that went into effect on Saturday, April 3rd prohibited indoor dining as of that date.
“While there are currently no cases among guests, we are erring on the side of caution and asking people who may have dined in the restaurant to monitor themselves for symptoms,” says medical officer of health Dr. Natalie Bocking in a media release issued Saturday (April 10).
The restaurant owner has been working closely with the health unit to identify potential high-risk contacts, including supplying the health unit with the required customer list for contact tracing. However, the health unit doesn’t have the resources to personally contact all the customers on the list, according to Dr. Bocking, so it is issuing a notice instead.
“This is just one outbreak the health unit is working on currently, and so our capacity to reach out to a high number of potential contacts is limited,” Dr. Bocking says. “We need people to continue to do what they can to prevent any further spread.”
Dr. Bocking adds that, since the risk of transmission is considered low, it’s not necessary for patrons who dined inside the restaurant between March 25 and April 2 to self-isolate, only to monitor their health over the next 14 days for COVID-19 symptoms.
Common symptoms include fever (temperature of 37.8°C or higher), new or worsening cough, headache, and shortness of breath. Other symptoms can include sore throat, difficulty swallowing, changes to sense of taste/smell, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, runny nose, and nasal congestion.
The Swiss Chalet restaurant on Strathy Road in Cobourg has voluntarily closed until Tuesday, April 20th.
