BARRIE, ONT. -- Temporary foreign workers are in the fields at Barrie Hill Farms, prepping for the upcoming season, and Simcoe Muskoka's medical officer of health hopes to keep them safe.
"I'm going to be issuing an order under the Health and Protection and Promotion Act, a Section 22 order, to help provide further protection for temporary foreign workers on farms," Dr. Charles Gardner said.
The same order was issued last spring following a large number of farm outbreaks.
"These are, of course, people who provide us ultimately with the food that we eat, and it's very important that we protect them," Gardner noted.
Once the order is enacted, employers will need to conduct daily screenings and ensure employees stay within their groups, avoiding any mingling with other workers.
"It's really secure, and it's an added level of confidence that the workers coming are healthy and there's no possibility of spread," said Morris Gervais, Barrie Hills Farms.
Seven workers completed their quarantine. Six more are pending.
Foreign workers are considered essential, and because they can't work remotely, they may soon qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, the health unit has approved an additional $5 million in its budget to continue to operate the region's vaccination clinics.
"To be able to carry out the immunization campaign, we've had to establish not only a great deal of hiring, just under 200 additional staff over the year," Gardner said.
The province's pharmacy vaccination pilot program is expanding to include three pharmacies in Simcoe Muskoka in an effort to get more Ontarians immunized. The locations have yet to be announced.
So far, more than 300 select pharmacies can offer the vaccine in Toronto, Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, plus Windsor-Essex County.
