OTTAWA -- Another local restaurant is temporarily closed because of a positive COVID-19 test result.
In a post on Instagram, E18hteen—located in the ByWard Market—said an employee had recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus and so the restaurant is closed out of an abundance of caution.
"Due to a recent positive test of COVID-19 to one of our team members, we have decided to take the precautionary measure to temporarily close our doors to the public," the post said. "All of our staff members will be undergoing a 14-day isolation, per [Ottawa Public Health] guidelines."
The restaurant will also be fully sanitized before it reopens, the post said.
In the past week, at least six other restaurants chose to temporarily close due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 among staff.
Last week, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches announced that she was invoking an order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act that requires people to self-isolate if they test positive for COVID-19, have signs of symptoms, are a close contact of a positive test, are awaiting a test result or have reasonable grounds to believe they may have COVID-19.
In a special statement on Ottawa Public Health's website on Friday, Dr. Etches said the order does not change any existing health guidelines.
"By issuing this order, we will be able to act more quickly and efficiently when needed rather than drafting individual orders each time. It allows us to act swiftly and provide education in a more efficient manner," she said.
