Nearly 500 more municipal employees got fully vaccinated since last week, which the city says is ‘encouraging,’ but the number of staff on unpaid suspension has now exceeded 500.
The city released an update on its staff vaccination numbers on Friday.
Of the 32,052 employees who have reported their vaccination status, 31,074 or 97 per cent of the workforce are fully immunized against COVID-19, an increase of 491 since the last update.
“It is encouraging to see this week that approximately 500 more of our employees are reporting they have received a full course of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is an important step in providing a safe workplace for our employees, and helping to protect our community,” City Manager Chris Murray said in a statement.
Meanwhile, 587 workers reported having one dose, and 234 shared that they were unvaccinated.
The city said 134 of those who completed their vaccine attestation did not disclose their status while 164 employees have still not submitted their vaccination forms.
Staff who have failed to comply with the city’s vaccination policy have been placed on unpaid leave since the start of the month.
The city said Friday that they have suspended 515 non-compliant workers, an increase of 136 since the last update. In addition, 85 employees are on leave of absence while waiting for their request for accommodation to be approved.
Staff members who will continue to defy the policy and remain unvaccinated by Dec. 13 will be terminated with cause, the city said.
101 recreational programs cancelled
The city confirmed Friday that 101 recreational programs will be cancelled for the last four weeks of the fall season.
It announced last week that a number of its programs would be paused due to staff shortages caused by the mandate.
The cancelled programs will affect 685 participants, the city said.
It noted that no Learn to Skate or Learn to Swim programs will be slashed as well as after-school recreation care programs will not be affected.
“The City will be directly contacting anyone affected by a program cancellation and registrants will receive pro-rated refunds for the remaining classes in the session.”