For safety compliance, employers must ensure that all current safety legislation is followed as per the most recent updates. This includes when and if the region of your workplace will require masks to be worn in retail and commercial buildings.
Currently, there is a new Public Health order (section 22) that applies to all commercial establishments within the jurisdiction of the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit. If your commercial establishment is within this region, you have the duty to comply with this new order that requires:
- The prohibition of people from entering commercial establishment premises and remaining on the premises if a mask is not being worn.
- The availability of hand sanitizer at all building entrances and exits.
- There are exemptions to this new mask order. People are exempt from wearing masks on premises of commercial establishments within the region if:
- The person is a child under the age of two;
- The person is a child under the age of five either chronologically or developmentally, and he or she refuses to wear a mask and cannot be persuaded to do so by their caregiver;
- Wearing the mask limits the person’s ability to breathe in any way; and
- The person cannot safely wear a mask due to medical reasons such as respiratory disease, cognitive difficulties, difficulties in hearing or processing information, etc.
As of current, the region of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph is the first to implement mandatory masks to be worn in commercial establishments. Should other regions implement the same order, these requirements will have to be followed for as long as the order remains in place. It is important to keep up to date with new safety orders as they are released to ensure safety compliance within your organization.
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