COVID ALERT SEES SERVICE ONTARIO OFFICE CLOSED TEMPORARILY

GRAVENHURST — It’s an ounce of prevention ….

The Service Ontario office is temporarily closed as a precaution after a staff member may have been exposed to COVID-19.

The Gravenhurst Chamber of Commerce, which operates the Muskoka Road office downtown, closed its doors and won’t open as usual Saturday.

In a release, chamber director Sandy Lockhart said: “Out of an abundance of caution,” it “will be temporarily closed.”

“Today (Friday, Aug. 28) we became aware, via the Government of Canada’s tracing app, that one of our centre employees has potentially been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

“The alerted employee is being tested (today).

“We are in touch with the Public Health Unit and will follow their direction.

“The office is also undergoing a deep cleaning.”

Lockhart told MuskokaTODAY.com this afternoon that they had been in touch with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, which told them they didn’t have to close.

But Lockhart said they did it to be perfectly safe.

She said they hope to open again soon, if the test results come back negative.

That could be as early as Monday, she said.

In the meantime, she says anyone still needing the same government help they offer can access many of Service Ontario’s services at www.ontario.ca/page/serviceontario

The Service Ontario office at 275 Muskoka Road S. in Gravenhurst has been closed after an employed was alerted through the new COVID tracing app that they may have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus. As such, the office will be closed as of Aug. 28 until further testing and notice.