The city of Toronto says it has suspended nearly 250 workers who haven’t complied with its vaccination mandate.
Managers and supervisors who work for the city are talking individually to workers who have yet to receive a dose of COVID-19 vaccine or who have not reported their vaccination status.
So far, 248 have been suspended without pay for a maximum of six weeks, and face termination if they aren’t fully vaccinated by Dec. 13. Another 51 have been placed on a leave of absence while the city reviews their requests for accommodation.
The city says 30,204 workers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 – 94 per cent of its work force.
It says 31,910 have submitted their proof of vaccination, while 396 have not.
Ontario’s COVID-19 numbers on the rise
Ontario, meanwhile, reported 563 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, and five more deaths.
It’s the first time since Oct. 10 that the daily new-case count has exceeded 500.
The seven-day average of new cases has been on the rise in the past few days, after falling since an early September fourth-wave peak.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 314 of the new cases are in people who aren’t fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status, while the other 249 are fully vaccinated.
The numbers of people in ICU owing to COVID-19 remain relatively steady, and there were 129 people in intensive-care units, with 117 of them not fully vaccinated or with an unknown vaccination status.
There are 23 patients from Saskatchewan in Ontario hospitals, with 22 of them in ICUs.
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