NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO NORTHLAND
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As of July 24, Ontario Northland will require all passengers to wear a face-covering or non-medical mask when boarding and disembarking a bus, and when walking through the aisle.
The health and safety of passengers and employees are our number one priority. Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have continually adapted our operations and services based on best practices and in consultation with Public Health.
As regions across Ontario enter Stage 3 of the province’s re-opening framework, we expect more people to return to public transit. With more people riding public transit, physical distancing will become increasingly difficult to maintain.
Passengers can expect increased safety and hygiene practices. These include:
- All passengers will be required to wear a face-covering or non-medical mask when boarding or disembarking the motor coach or walking through the aisle (it is strongly encouraged to continue wearing the mask while seated). Children under the age of two and people with difficulty breathing unrelated to COVID-19 should not use face coverings or non-medical masks.
- The buses have enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols before each trip. Cleaning and disinfecting focuses on passenger and employee frequently touched objects and surfaces, including arm rests and door handles. Additionally, an anti-microbial spray has been applied to all passenger coaches to help keep surfaces clean.
- To respect physical distancing, we reduced the number of seats that can be occupied per bus. Please do not change seats throughout the trip.
- Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is available in all passenger coaches near the entrance.
This decision to mandate the use of face coverings or non-medical mask on our system is aligned with the advice of Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health and was implemented in the best interests of customers.
To help stop the spread of COVID-19, extra measures have been put in place including increased cleaning, application of an antimicrobial spray, limited seating capacity on buses and passenger health screenings prior to boarding.
This policy will be enacted and enforced in 'good faith' and we will not refuse transportation to a customer if they do not wear a face covering or non-medical mask.
For more information on COVID-19 please visit the Ontario government’s website at covid-19.ontario.ca or Public Health Ontario website at www.publichealthontario.ca.
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