Several more staff members at major grocery and drugstore chains operating in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Loblaw Companies Ltd, the parent company of retailers Shoppers Drug Mart and No Frills provided updates to its COVID-19 employee case listings on Nov. 22 and 23. Additionally, the Loblaw-owned T&T Supermarket updated their own online COVID-19 store case tracker for test-positive cases on Nov. 20 and 21.
The following stores are affected:
- Sewak's No Frills, 1971 Lougheed Hwy, Port Coquitlam: The last day the team member worked was on November 16.
- Shoppers Drug Mart, 45800 Promontory Road, Chilliwack: The last day the team member worked was on November 20.
- T&T Supermarket, #2740-Barnet Hwy, Coquitlam: The last day the two associates worked were November 13 and 17, respectively.
None of these store locations are considered public exposure sites by Fraser Health.
'Safest place to shop in Canada'
Loblaw says they share updates about test-positive COVID cases in their stores in order to maintain transparency.
All of their stores have policies regarding test-positive staff coronavirus cases, including store deep-cleaning and notification of close contacts who are co-workers.
When there are employee virus cases, Loblaw notes: “Generally, the risk to our customers remains low, due to the physical distancing and sanitization measures that have been in place in our stores for months."
T&T Supermarket indicates it has numerous precautions in place that "customers can't see," such as Plexiglass dividers in the lunch area so that store associates can maintain safe separation while on break.
Additionally, T&T says they have a "two-degree quarantine" program that mandates any store worker who shares a home with a test-positive case is not permitted to come to work and must isolate.
"T&T aspires to be the safest place to shop in Canada," concludes the company.
