Toronto Public Health probes COVID-19 cases at JOEY Restaurant, Foot Locker in Yorkdale mall

Toronto Public Health (TPH) says it is investigating COVID-19 cases at JOEY Restaurant and Foot Locker in Yorkdale mall after both employers reported one case each in recent days.

In a statement on Monday, Dr. Vinita Dubey, associate medical officer of health, said (TPH) is working with the two companies at Yorkdale Shopping Centre to prevent further spread of the virus. Dubey declined to release details about the individual cases.

"To protect people's privacy and personal health information, we do not provide information that could identify an individual. While we recognize the desire to have access to more information, we must balance the public health reason for the release of the information and the right to privacy by individual cases," Dubey said.

JOEY Yorkdale, part of the JOEY Restaurants chain, has reopened after it was closed for 24 hours for cleaning, starting on Saturday. The company has not confirmed whether it was an employee or customer who tested positive for the virus but said the person last visited the mall on Aug. 27.

"We can confirm this is an isolated case where the individual contracted it away from the restaurant," Katie Dunsworth, a spokesperson for the company, said in an email on Monday.

"Zero transmission has been detected due to extensive safety protocols in place," she added.

"The health and safety of our guests and our staff is our primary concern and the restaurant was voluntarily closed Saturday, August 29th for 24 hours to allow for a deep sanitation of the property by a third-party cleaning firm. All team members are being closely monitored and we will continue to follow our strict health and safety guidelines."

In a notice to Yorkdale mall tenants from property management, JOEY employees who had contact with the infected person have been told to get tested for COVID-19 and to speak to a health care professional if they begin to feel unwell. Employees have also been asked to undergo a COVID-19 and confirm a negative result.

Foot Locker, meanwhile, confirmed to mall management last Thursday that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19, according to Jill Lindsay, a spokesperson for the mall.

"Store management has closed the location to allow for appropriate cleaning and sanitization and Yorkdale operations has ensured a deep cleaning of all exterior surface areas in addition to frequent cleaning of all high-touch and high-traffic areas," Lindsay said in an email on Friday.

According to the mall's website, Foot Locker was not open on Monday.

Lindsay said customer and employee health and safety is a priority at Yorkdale. She said management has implemented several safety measures to keep shoppers and employees safe:

• Frequent cleaning in "high-touch and high-traffic" areas using practices and products identified by health organizations.

• Signs to guide customer traffic flow and encourage physical distancing throughout the mall.

• Hand sanitizer and hand washing stations throughout the centre.

• Curbside pickup with participating retailers.

As for TPH, Dubey said it investigates all COVID-19 infections in the city, including clusters of COVID-19 cases that occur in workplaces.

"As soon as TPH becomes aware of a COVID-19 case, we act on the information to follow up on each case immediately. When a workplace setting is involved, TPH works with the employer to conduct contact tracing and assess the potential for ongoing risk of transmission to staff, clients, and other members of the public," Dubey said.

Dubey said cases and their close contacts in the workplace will be advised to go into isolation for 14 days, while other casual contacts will be told to monitor themselves for signs and symptoms of infection.

If a broader potential health risk exists, then TPH would issue a news release to notify residents, she said.

She added that the public health unit works directly with workplaces when cases are identified to ensure that prevention measures are implemented.

Measures include: scheduling staggered shifts; screening before entering the workplace; physical barriers; physical distancing; and appropriate use of personal protective equipment such as masks.