Tenant with COVID-19 was inside Toronto home during open house

COVID-19 case linked to Toronto open house Officials are performing contact tracing after a case of COVID-19 was linked to an open house in Riverdale.

TORONTO — A listing for a three-floor house in Toronto has been removed after an agency showed the home to potential buyers while a person diagnosed with COVID-19 was inside.

An open house was held for the Riverdale property, located on Bowden Street just south of Danforth Avenue, over the weekend.

On Saturday, area resident Jeffery Wood told CTV News Toronto that he went with his friends to see the listing. Potential buyers were asked to wear masks, remain physically distant and provide contact information.

“As we walked up the stairs and we walked around the second floor, we saw there was a door and it had a sign on it that said ‘sorry, I’m sick.’”

“I thought it was incredibly irresponsible for that person, first of all to be even hosting an open house knowing that there was a sick person inside.”

On Monday, Wood received a phone call from the agency that showed the home. The staff member told him the person inside the house he visited had tested positive for COVID-19.

“To not give us a heads up that FYI, even if he didn't have a confirmation that the person had COVID to at least say, by the way there's a person who's sick inside.”

The house is listed under King Chen, Broker of Record at Home One Realty. Chen confirmed that a tenant, who was at the home on Saturday, has since tested positive for COVID-19.

The agent, who was not at the showing himself, told CTV News Toronto that at the time they did not know the result of the tenant’s COVID-19 test. She was moved to a hotel late Saturday afternoon, Chen said, and the showings continued on Sunday.

Chen told CTV News Toronto that the agency did not do any extra cleaning after the tenant left the home.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says they have been notified of the incident and that the listing has been terminated.

“This incident would be a breach of specific Public Health regulations (Toronto Public Health; Ontario Ministry of Health; Public Health Agency of Canada),” they said in a statement.

“The Member should have immediately notified Public Health so measures could be taken to assist with any necessary contact tracing and to carry out any other necessary safety measures as directed.”

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Sean Leathong