A variety of public health measures have been implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada to reduce contact between individuals. This study, co-authored by the Munk School’s Peter Loewen, constructs contact patterns to evaluate the degree to which social contacts rebounded to normal levels, as well as direct public health efforts toward age- and location-specific settings. Respondents from a selection of Canadian adults provided information about the age and setting for each direct contact made in a 24-hour period. Contact matrices were constructed and contacts for those under the age of 18 years imputed. The skewed distribution of reported contacts toward workplace settings in September and December combined with the number of reported school-related contacts suggest that these settings represent important opportunities for transmission emphasizing the need to ensure infection control procedures in both workplaces and schools.

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