395 Lakeshore Dr., North Bay, ON, P1A 2C5 | Phone: 1-833-236-0281 Ext. 1 csrc@united-church.ca
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SCREENING TOOL REQUIREMENTS

On Friday, September 25, 2020, the Government of Ontario amended O. Reg 364/20, (Reopening Ontario in response to Covid-19) effective Saturday September 26, 2020.  This Regulation sets out the Rules for Areas in Stage 3.

The amendment imposes a requirement that “the person responsible for a business or organization that is open shall operate the business or organization in compliance with the advice, recommendations and instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health on screening individuals.”

The Ministry of Health issued its COVID-19 Screening Tool for Workplaces (Business and Organizations).  The Tool provides screening questions for any worker or essential visitor (defined in the Tool) seeking to enter the work environment.  The Tool does not apply to patrons of a workplace, essential workers who travel outside of Canada for work, or emergency services or other first responders who may enter a workplace for emergency purposes.  

Effective September 26, 2020, each Ontario workplace is now required to pro-actively screen employees for COVID-19-related symptoms and risk factors prior to entry into the work environment, each day the employee seeks to enter the work environment (this would not apply to an employee working at home that day).  The screening tool should include, at a minimum, the questions identified in the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Screening Tool for Workplaces (Businesses and Organizations). 

We encourage communities of faith to ask employees to consent to participation in the screening tool and to ensure that their personal and private responses are stored securely, for whatever duration of time public health mandates. Many communities of faith have already implemented such screening procedures, and employees are following these protocols. However, please note that this is no longer an option, it is now a legal requirement

EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES UPDATE

There have been some updates to our employment guidelines document effective for October 1, 2020. This will replace the September 10th version and can be found on our website. You can continue to find all our latest information on our Covid-19 Response page