Public Health: no lab-confirmed COVID-19 case at Kingston Tim Hortons

Kingston Frontenac Lennox & Addington (KFL&A) Public Health has confirmed that there are no lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 at a Tim Hortons at 2821 Princess St.

“KFL&A Public Health was contacted by Tim Hortons [Thursday, Sep. 17, 2020] regarding a request to investigate a positive case,” said Suzette Taggart, Manager of Communications. “KFL&A Public Health was made aware of the case by Tims. Our contact tracing and case management team investigated the case and closed the investigation,” she said.

Taggart said she was unsure and did not want to speculate on whether an employee had falsely claimed to have COVID-19, or had perhaps self-diagnosed.

“There could be many different variables at play. All of us are under an enormous amount of stress. Fear and change can make us react in different ways,” she said.

Taggart did say that KFL&A will be reaching out to Tim Hortons corporate head office to confirm how a positive COVID-19 case is declared, and to provide “education” around the requirements for lab-confirmed tests.

Tim Hortons released a statement Thursday afternoon indicating that an employee had tested positive and was self-isolating for 14 days. Their declaration followed confirmation from the manager of the adjoining Esso station that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19. The restaurant and the gas station closed Wednesday, Sep. 16 after news of the case. Both have reopened as of this morning, after deep cleaning.

At the time of publication, there are currently five active cases of COVID-19 in the KFL&A area, with the most recent cases reported on Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2020.