Reminder for Local Restaurants and Bars Keep a Record

Local restaurants and bars are reminded to adopt and practice proper contact tracing measures. The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit issued a community notice yesterday about a potential public exposure to COVID-19 in a North Bay establishment, where patron information had not been gathered.

The Health Unit states that restaurants and bars are required to keep a log of patron names and contact information. This allows public health officials to quickly notify each individual at risk in the event of potential exposure to COVID-19.

Guidelines (according to the Ontario Regulation 263/20 Schedule 2, Subsection 4)

The person responsible for the (food and beverage) establishment must:

Record the name and contact information of every patron that enters an indoor or outdoor dining area in the establishment, other than patrons who temporarily enter the area to place, pick up or pay for a takeout order

Maintain the records for a period of at least one month

Only disclose the records to a medical officer of health or an inspector under the Health Protection and Promotion Act on request for a purpose specified in section 2 of that Act or as otherwise required by law