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Ontario announces additional measures to protect first responders during COVID-19 outbreak
April 6, 2020 By Staff
“First responders put their lives on the line every day to protect Ontarians and they are at great risk of being directly exposed to COVID-19 as they fulfill their frontline duties,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, in a joint statement. “We must do everything in our power to ensure the health and well-being of those working on the frontlines and provide them with the tools they need to do their jobs and keep Ontarians safe.
The statement went on to say, “our government has made an emergency order that will allow police, firefighters and paramedics to obtain COVID-19 positive status information about individuals with whom they are coming into contact.”
The information disclosed will be limited to an individual’s name, address, date of birth, and whether the individual has had a positive COVID-19 test result, the statement added. “Strict protocols will be enforced to limit access to this information and will only be used to allow first responders to take appropriate safety precautions to protect themselves and the communities they serve.”
Once the declaration of emergency is lifted, Elliott and Jones said this data will be made inaccessible to first responders.
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