Four more employees who work at St. Lawrence Market have now tested positive for COVID-19, the city said Tuesday.

In a news release, the city said that the employees were last at work in the market on December 24, 26th and 31st. One employee works for the city’s Facilities Management section while the others work at three different merchant stores in the market.

“All close contacts have been notified and are self-isolating and monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days from the last possible date of exposure,” the statement read.

Two of the employees contracted the virus from extended family members at social gatherings, while another contracted the virus through community spread and the fourth was a close contact of an employee who tested positive last week. The fourth employee had been self-isolating since December 24.

The city said that it was advising the public in the interest of transparency and that "the risk to the general public is low, as the interactions with employees with infections would've been brief."

The statement also noted that employees were wearing masks and maintaining physical distance as much as possible.

None of the new cases are connected to each other and therefore do not constitute a new outbreak, the city said. However the fourth case is connected to a previously reported outbreak at the market involving three other employees, announced on December 30.

“St. Lawrence Market works closely with TPH to ensure the safety of all customers, employees, merchants, vendors, farmers and everyone inside the Market. The Market will remain open to provide food access to Toronto residents and the community,” the city said.

The city noted that a number of infection prevention measures such as masking, strict line management, physical distancing and enhanced cleaning remain in place at the market.

The market is one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations in normal times, but also serves as a regular food supplier for the surrounding neighbourhoods downtown.

Toronto reported 837 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, with officials noting an uptick in reported gatherings over the holiday period, despite pleas from public officials to avoid gatherings.