UHN will require that unvaccinated employees test negative for COVID-19 before arriving at work
University Health Network employees who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine will soon have to test negative for the virus before showing up for work.
UHN spokesperson Gillian Howard tells CTV News Toronto that the hospital network is in the process of implementing a new policy which will establish strict testing requirements for unvaccinated employees with the hopes of having it fully in effect by Aug. 9.
Under the policy, all fulltime, part-time and causal staff will have to either disclose their vaccination status to Health Services or formally indicate that they don’t wish to disclose their vaccination status.
Howard says that employees who are unvaccinated or choose not to disclose their status will then be expected to take a rapid at-home test for COVID-19 and report the result at lest 48 hours prior to coming to work.
Those employees will also have to participate in an education session about vaccination, though an exemption to that will be made for employees who have a documented medical reason for not being vaccinated.
“We are implementing this to keep patients and staff as safe as we possibly can,” Howard said in a statement. “The best protection for anyone is double vaccination which has been made available to all employees of UHN.”
Howard said that the University Health Network has been communicating with employees about the new policy since June.
She said that between 85 and 90 per cent of all employees are vaccinated, meaning that the testing requirement will only impact a minority of its workforce.
As of July 12, about 18,000 staff had fulfilled the reporting requirement and 750 home test kits had been distributed.
UHN oversees a number of downtown hospitals, including Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.