Positive COVID-19 case at Cause and Effect bar in Hamilton

The Cause and Effect bar in Hamilton says a customer from Saturday night has tested positive for COVID-19.

The bar and restaurant posted on social media saying the patron was on site between 8 p.m. and midnight.

Jez Hundert, the general manager, told CBC News someone who was waiting for a COVID-19 test result visited the location on Stone Church Road East only to find out Sunday they were infected. The store posted about the incident on social media, but was never forced to close.

"We were very concerned ... we're a small business in Hamilton that has been through as much stuff as everyone else in 2020 has," he told CBC News.

"At zero point were we or did we want to hide this from anybody ... we hope if someone has COVID, we hope they don't come to the restaurant."

Hamilton moved into Stage 3 on Friday which allows for a maximum of 50 people indoors and a maximum of 100 people outdoors, with physical distancing in place. This was the first weekend people could eat inside restaurants and bars rather than only on patios. It's unclear if the customer was in the restaurant or on the patio.

The 119 new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario announced Monday, most of which were in people under 40 years old, is a sign that businesses and public health need to pay close attention to the impacts of loosening restrictions — especially with younger cohorts more prone to ignoring pandemic protocols.

Public health officials have stressed in recent days the need for young people to continue adhering to social distancing measures.

Images that appear to be from the bar show a patio packed full of people. The image was posted on Sunday and the original poster claims it was taken on Saturday night. In a thread on Reddit, the user said they reported the restaurant.

Another video shows a lack of physical distancing on the patio.

Hundert did not comment on the images and video but said the tables are spaced six feet apart and there were never more than 100 people at the restaurant. He added that staff who worked that shift are also not working until they are tested for COVID-19.

Cause and Effect also posted a video on Instagram of cleaners spraying down the bar.

"We have had a professional company sanitizing our restaurant with Electrostatic disinfectant and will continue to do so until the virus is gone," read the Instagram post.

Besides routine cleaning, staff and newly hired security have been watching for customers with symptoms. Now, Hundert said it will include the use of thermometers to try and detect the virus. They don't use screening questions and don't plan on it.

Public health says nothing has changed since Hamilton entered Stage 3.

"We continue to have lots of businesses reaching out for advice about how they can safely operate, which has been great to see their interest.  It would be too early to see anything with respect to cases, as any change would tend to show up in the number of positive cases 10-14 days after the change," read an e-mail to CBC News.

17 COVID-19 cases in Hamilton

There are 17 cases of COVID-19 known to public health in Hamilton as of Monday morning. It's unclear if this case is included in the 17.

Public health says 887 people are known to have been infected in Hamilton, an increase of six from Friday. COVID-19 has killed 45 people and 825 have recovered.

Hamilton Health Sciences says it has five or fewer COVID-19 patients in its care.

There is an outbreak at Community Living Hamilton's Mountain residence, where a single staff member is infected. 

Haldimand-Norfolk

The two counties have passed mandatory indoor masking bylaws. The bylaws have two categories, one for supermarkets and commercial with high foot traffic and another category for office spaces, restaurants, gyms and those not in the first category.

Category 1 spots must install signage that stops people from entering or staying in indoor public spaces without a face covering. Category 2 areas must do that but also include signage about physical distancing.

Kids under 10 and those with medical conditions don't need to wear masks.

Both counties have a combined 28 known COVID-19 cases right now. 

The total number of confirmed cases is 455. Of those, 395 people have recovered and 32 have died. 

Brant

There are five people in Brant/Brantford known to have COVID-19. One person is in hospital.

There have been 139 confirmed cases. Of those, 130 have recovered and four have died.

Halton

There are 29 people known to have COVID-19 in Halton. The region has 909 known cases (826 confirmed, 83 probable).

Of those, 855 people have recovered and 25 people have died.

In Burlington, seven people are known to have the virus right now. The city has seen 187 cases, of which 173 have recovered and seven have died.

Niagara

Niagara began implementing an indoor masking policy over the weekend. There are 62 active cases in the region.

It has seen 833 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic.

Of the total cases, 707 people have recovered and 64 people have died.