Lac-Leamy casino hit by COVID-19 outbreak among staff

Western Quebec's health unit has declaredan outbreak of COVID-19 among staff of the Casino du Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Que.

The Centre intgr de sant et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais (CISSSO) confirmed the outbreak Thursday, only days after a Radio-Canada investigation revealed the casino one of the largest in the region was failing to enforce mask-wearing policies.

Loto-Qubec said in a Thursday evening statement that nine workers havetested positive.

The outbreak is related to staff gathering outside of work, the provincial crown corporation said.Some of the staff involved were already working from home, while others were in supervisory roles with little customer contact, Loto-Qubecsaid.

This is the first staff outbreak at a Loto-Qubec facility since the start of the pandemic, it said.

The outbreak comes afterRadio-Canada's investigation found thatthe casino failed to enforce masking rules for customers while they were on the dance floor or moving around the premises.

• Lac-Leamy casino fails to enforce mask mandates

CISSSOsaid it iscontact tracing and screening staff at the casino.

Since public health measures were relaxed to allow standing and dancing in the province on Nov. 15, the Gatineau Police Service says it has attended the casino nine times.

All calls were related to fake vaccine passports, however, not health measures, police said.