Employers continue to have a duty to protect workers
Ontario health and safety associations are promoting a new series of free posters designed to help prevent the spread of flu and COVID-19 variants in the workplace.
Last November, in an effort to help overwhelmed children’s hospitals amid a surge of respiratory illnesses, the Ontario Minister of Health recommended Ontarians wear masks in all indoor public settings and get their Covid boosters and flu shots.
From December 18 to 24, 2022, there were 6,449 reported cases of COVID-19 in Ontario, compared to 6,024 the previous week, according to Public Health Ontario.
There was a gradual increase in the four weeks leading up to Christmas. Projections suggest weekly case numbers may continue to rise in the first two weeks of January 2023. It’s important to note these numbers reflect only reported cases in the province.
“With new COVID-19 variants being discovered, it’s clear that we need to remain vigilant both at work and when we’re out in the community,” says Paul Andre, President and CEO of Workplace Safety North.
“The intent is to provide employers with an effective, easy-to-access tool to encourage and support masking – particularly employers who already have a masking policy or program, and those who may be thinking of implementing a policy,” says Andre.
The Minister of Health has issued strong recommendations to mask indoors and stay up to date on vaccines, including the flu shot. The posters remind workers of the importance of masking to protect their co-workers and themselves from COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases like the flu.
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