More than 200 patrons exposed to VOC after COVID-19 outbreak declared at Oakville steakhouse
Posted March 19, 2021 4:55 pm.
Last Updated March 19, 2021 11:39 pm.
A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at a popular steakhouse in Oakville with Halton Region’s public health unit asking anyone who visited the restaurant in the last two weeks to self-isolate and get tested.
The public health unit says as many as 200 patrons who dined at Oliver’s Steakhouse restaurant, located at Lakeshore Road East and Navy Street, between March 8 and March 13 were exposed to a variant of concern.
“As part of the investigation, it was determined that patrons were exposed and we could not obtain a complete list of patrons. Therefore, immediate notification was required to inform patrons of their exposure risk and protect others in our community,” the public health unit tells 680 NEWS.
Patrons are being asked to self-isolate and to get tested for COVID-19 should they show symptoms of the virus.
The owner of the steakhouse said four staff members tested positive after one employee had a sore throat roughly two weeks ago. The public health unit says it is aware of five cases among staff.
The restaurant then immediately shuttered its doors upon learning of the positive case. However, public health officials say they only determined on Thursday that transmission within the workplace had occurred.
The restaurant has since reopened for indoor dining under the required capacity limit, with the owner saying it is safe for dining and no working staff members are currently positive for the virus.
The outbreak comes on the heels of an announcement from the Ford government in which they announced increased capacity for indoor dining under “Red-Control” and “Orange-Restrict” of the province’s COVID-19 framework.
As of Saturday at 12:01 a.m. they’ll allow for outdoor dining in public health units currently under “Grey-Lockdown,” such as Toronto and Peel.
Restaurants and bars in Red and Orange Zones will have a max capacity limit of 50 and 100 patrons for indoor dining, respectively.
Halton Region, as well as Durham and York Regions, are currently in the Red Zone.
