Updated September 28 at 7:00 PM:
ONroute reopened the King City plaza this evening after a temporary closure earlier today to complete a thorough sanitization of the facility following confirmation of a positive case of COVID-19 on our team. All 23 plazas are now open providing 24/7 access to washrooms, fuel, and food/beverage via take-out, grab and go, and drive-thru services.
Dear Customers,
Today, ONroute has confirmed that one employee at its King City plaza has 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Out of extreme precaution, ONroute has temporarily closed our King City plaza while we complete a thorough cleaning and sanitization of the facility using a qualified third-party partner. Fuel services remain open at King City and all remaining plazas continue to operate at this time.
The affected employee is currently in self-isolation to prevent spread of infection to others. The individual worked as a member of the King City Starbucks team and has not been at work since Wednesday, September 26 and was asymptomatic at that time. Additionally, all employees at the King City plaza who had direct contact with the individual are being advised to stay at home and self-isolate for 14 days. ONroute will also undertake contact tracing to determine who else may have come into close contact with the affected employee.
ONroute is considered an essential business in accordance with the Government of Ontario’s list of designated essential workplaces released on March 23, 2020. As such, our other 22 travel plazas REMAIN OPEN to provide 24/7 access to washrooms, fuel and food/beverage via take-out, grab and go, and drive-through services.
We also continue with our numerous precautionary measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 in each of our travel plazas, which include:
• Enhanced existing cleaning and sanitation measures
• Increased frequency of our cleaning and disinfecting routines
• Re-trained and continually re-emphasizing proper hand-washing protocols with our team members
• Moved to contactless transactions at most locations, accepting debit and credit for purchases
• Installed plexi-glass shields at our point-of-sale systems
• Providing gloves for employee use in serving customers
• Providing masks for employee use
• Increased signage to ensure appropriate social distancing for the public in our plazas
• Implemented new queue protocols to increase distance from counter staff
• Temporarily removed our children’s play areas
• Replaced all plastic trays with only take-out bags
• Moved all cream/sugar stations behind the counter
We continue to advise all employees who feel unwell to stay home and require those who have traveled recently to self-isolate at home for 14 days following their return to Canada, consistent with advice from local and national health authorities. ONroute has also waived any requirement to produce a doctor’s note during this time and we are actively working with our employees to monitor their well-being, support them during time away from work, and assist in managing their return when appropriate to do so.
We also ask all customers who feel unwell to stay home and ask those, including Canadians and permanent residents, who have returned from international travel recently, regardless of location, duration or reason, to self-isolate at home for 14 days before visiting us again. The exception being cross-border truck drivers and other essential service workers who are not required to self-isolate. For those individuals exempted, we continue to ask that you practice “social-distancing” and keep 2 metres (6 feet) apart from others while in our plaza.
ONroute proudly supports the essential services provided by our trucking and supply chain sectors, and supports all those who must travel across Ontario during this time. We take the health and safety of our customers and employees very seriously. We continue to monitor for updates from the Government of Ontario and the World Health Organization and will continue to assess our practices and procedures in light of new recommendations.
We will provide an update on our website and via our social media channels once the King City plaza has been re-opened. Please contact contactus@onroute.ca with any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your understanding and for making ONroute a part of your journey.
Melanie Teed-Murch
Chief Executive Officer