The University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) has announced in a statement that, effective immediately, it will be closing all its in-person services for two weeks after being informed that two people who had tested positive for COVID-19 had been in the Student Centre, where the UTMSU office is located.
UTMSU will be closing its office, the InfoBooth, the Blind Duck Pub, and Duck Stop, and deep cleaning these spaces.
The UTMSU was notified of the cases on September 17, and wrote that “Those found in direct contact were asked to self-isolate and get tested by their closest testing facilities.” UTMSU President Mitra Yakubi wrote to The Varsity that the two people, who had used UTMSU facilities, informed the UTMSU Human Resources team “immediately.”
“The UTMSU is working in collaboration with Peel Public Health to safely reopen in light of the recent changes to in-person gatherings,” reads the UTMSU statement. “In the meantime, we invite all students to access our virtual services, events, and campaigns.”
In addition, the closures have halted the distribution of each student’s U-Pass. The UTMSU will inform students on how to pick up their U-Pass if they have not received one.
In an email to The Varsity, Jane Stirling, Executive Director of Communications at UTM, confirmed that the UTMSU informed UTM about the situation. She added that “direction is being taken from Peel Public Health to support contact tracing and those affected.”
“In accordance with public health guidelines, cleaning and disinfection of the UTMSU Student Centre will be undertaken and the centre will be closed until this is completed,” Stirling wrote.
Editor’s note (September 18): This article has been updated to include comment from UTM.
Editor’s note (September 23): This article has been updated to include comment from the UTMSU.
