Police say worker faked COVID note

TEEN CHARGED

Police have charged an employee at a McDonald’s restaurant in Hamilton, Ont., saying she used a faked doctor’s note claiming she tested positive for COVID-19 to get out of work.

When the 18-year-old female employee handed the purported medical note to her supervisor on March 19, McDonald’s immediately closed the restaurant and sent all employees home to self-isolate.

It remained closed for several days and was sanitized by a professional cleaning company, while the public was warned about potential transmission to customers and staff. Customers were told to contact Ontario Public Health if they had concerns and had been served at the restaurant on March 15.

The note, however, was a fraud, Hamilton police said Friday.

“There has been a significant impact on the restaurant, local customers and employees which instigated the need for police involvement,” said Const. Lorraine Edwards, a Hamilton police spokeswoman.

The McDonald’s outlet is a large restaurant at a busy crossroads on the city’s Mountain, at the corner of Rymal Road East and Upper James Street.

The restaurant’s closure and the spectre of COVID-19 contagion amid a deadly global pandemic created fear among customers, employees and the wider community.

“The magnitude of this and the impact it had on the public and on the business, it needed to have police attention,” Edwards said.

Police were alerted by Hamilton Public Health Services on Monday that the employee had created a false physician’s note containing fraudulent information about testing positive for COVID-19, Edwards said.

The woman was arrested Thursday and charged with mischief over $5,000, fraud under $5,000, using a forged document and making a forged document. She was released with an undertaking and is expected to appear in court in May.

“Hamilton police continue to investigate crime whether it is created as a result of the pandemic situation or not. It doesn’t change. We have our job to do,” Edwards said.

A manager at the store declined to comment on the incident.

A McDonald’s Canada spokesperson said the company has cooperated with police and health authorities.

“We take these allegations seriously. When the fraud was confirmed by the Hamilton Police Service, our team offered full cooperation. We maintain that closing the restaurant was the right thing to do to protect the health and well-being of our people, our guests, and our community,” said Ryma Boussoufa.

Hamilton Public Health was not available for comment prior to deadline.