Peel Public Health announced on Saturday that it has partially closed two Amazon fulfilment centres to control COVID-19 outbreaks.
The centres are located in Brampton, Ont., at 8050 Heritage Rd., and in Bolton, Ont., at 12724 Coleraine Dr. The businesses were required to close at midnight on Friday. Peel Region is located northwest of Toronto.
Peel Public Health said in a news release on Friday that the businesses and employees have been notified.
The public health unit said the centres have been closed under Section 22 of Ontario’s Health Protection and Promotion Act. On its website, it said a partial closure may mean the mass dismissal of a shift or work area.
“Modified closure criteria applies to large businesses. Based on risk assessment, it will be determined if full or partial closure is warranted,” Peel Public Health said in the release.
“Peel Public Health will be reviewing workplaces that meet the closure criteria on a daily basis to determine what action is required.”
The public health unit said any closures would apply to businesses that have had five or more cases that were acquired in the workplace over a span of two weeks.
Paid sick leave urged when businesses closed
Any closures could last up to 10 days and all affected employees must go into isolation during that time. They are not allowed to work in any other workplace.
“Absent legislated paid sick days, employers required to close under these provisions are strongly recommended to provide paid leave for impacted employees,” the public health unit said in the release.
Premier Doug Ford said on Thursday that his government has started work on a paid sick leave program after months of insisting that the program offered by the federal government was sufficient. The provincial government recently voted down a bill by the NDP that would have granted all workers access to paid sick days provided by their employers.
The 10-day period will allow public health officials to investigate the outbreaks without the risk of spread of infection and provide recommendations to the workplaces, the public health unit said.
