Inspectors will visit workplaces and businesses across Simcoe County and Muskoka on Friday and Saturday to ensure they’re following all the necessary COVID-19 safety measures amid a third wave of the pandemic, the region’s top doctor confirmed Tuesday.
“The province will be working with local police, public health, municipal bylaw enforcement officers to conduct education and enforcement visits across Simcoe Muskoka to businesses and workplaces,” said Dr. Charles Gardner, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit’s medical officer of health.
“These inspections will assist in confirming that retail businesses and workplaces are complying with the provincial Reopening Ontario Act.”
Some of the measures include having safety plans in place, screening staff and customers for COVID-19 symptoms, using masks properly and implementing control measures to prevent crowding, Gardner added.
The businesses that will be inspected on Friday and Saturday include supermarkets, big box stores, drug stores, beer and liquor stores, dollar stores, pet food stores, businesses of more than 25 employees, supplement stores, garden centres, gas stations and mechanic garages.
In February, inspectors visited businesses across Simcoe Muskoka to ensure they were complying with the necessary COVID-19 safety measures. At the time, inspectors found 51 per cent of businesses were compliant.