Three employees at two Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Surrey have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Loblaw Companies Ltd, the parent company of Shoppers Drug Mart, provided updates to its COVID-19 employee case listings on November 13.
The affected Shoppers Drug Mart locations and dates are as follows:
- 8677 Fraser Hwy, Surrey: The last day the team member worked was on November 9.
- 10153 King George Hwy, Surrey: The last day the two infected team members worked were on November 4 and November 7, respectively.
The stores are not listed by Fraser Health as possible coronavirus public exposure locations.
Recently, Loblaw has had multiple team member cases at stores they operate in B.C., in particular in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and in the Sea-to-Sky region. They have been updating their listings for the province with new cases daily.
In addition to Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaw operates other major retail chains in B.C., including Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaws City Market, and No Frills. Several employees at numerous locations within those chains have reported testing positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks.
Posting employee cases for transparency: Loblaw
Loblaw says they share updates about test-positive COVID cases in their stores in order to maintain transparency.
"In these cases, we work closely with public health and follow their guidance to ensure proper notification of close contacts and required cleaning and sanitization in our stores," notes the company.
"In all of our stores, we encourage our colleagues and employees to wear masks, particularly where physical distancing is not always possible," adds Loblaw.
“Whenever we have a positive case, we arrange for additional cleaning, and we work closely with the local public health unit to determine the appropriate next steps, including identifying and notifying close contacts. Anyone who meets that criteria from the store is asked to go home, self-isolate and monitor for symptoms.
“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. We post any positive cases on our website.”
