The City of Hamilton says more and more employees are coming into compliance with its COVID-19 vaccine verification policy.
The city says 89 staff members, most of them part-time employees, remain on an unpaid leave of absence as a result of being unvaccinated or not revealing their status.
The city adds that most non-compliant staff are in firefighting and transit, and that has resulted in some minor service impacts for Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) customers after service was proactively reduced on Route 51 University.
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The HSR notes there are many other service options supporting McMaster University, and changes to Route 51 will remain in place until further notice.
The number of non-compliant municipal employees is down significantly from the city’s initial estimate of 317, as stated in a Nov. 4 media release.
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The city adds that just over 500 employees are participating in its rapid testing program, which requires unvaccinated staff to submit twice-weekly test results.
The 89 staff members currently on unpaid leave represent 1.2 per cent of Hamilton’s municipal workforce and include 24 full-time and 65 part-time employees.
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