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Waterloo Public Health says that as of Wednesday, it will begin to disclose the names of significant, active workplace or facility outbreaks that meet very limited criteria.
The organization says it is making the move to keep residents informed of where these are taking place.
“As the pandemic has evolved, our reporting processes for cases and outbreaks have also evolved,” Dr. Ryan Van Meer, associate medical officer of health, told Global News in an emailed statement.
He says Waterloo Public Health is not required to make the move, which comes into effect on Wednesday.
“We are implementing this update to our workplace outbreak reporting to keep Waterloo Region informed of significant, active workplace or facility outbreaks,” he explained.
No new outbreaks were reported on Waterloo Public Health’s dashboard and no current ones reached the rigid requirements the agency has placed on releasing the information.
The agency says it will release the names if there are 15 or more cases with at least 15 per cent positivity among staff and customers, there are more than 50 cases, there is sustained transmission in the workplace of facility and there are no significant privacy concerns.
Waterloo Public Health says all other active outbreaks will continue to be reported by category type.
A quick look at the dashboard shows that 10 workplace outbreaks in the area have had a minimum of 15 cases, including the two at the Conestogo meatpacking plant in Breslau and the outbreak at the Algarve Restaurant in Kitchener.
The two outbreaks at the meatpacking plant are the only ones that have had more than 50 cases connected to them.
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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