A Coquitlam Shoppers Drug Mart and a Port Moody Thrifty Foods have both flagged COVID-19 cases among their workforce at a time when new cases of the virus have surged to 800 on Thursday, levels not seen in B.C. since Dec. 2.
In the latest case to hit the pharmacy chain, a Shoppers Drug Mart located at 3025 Lougheed Highway had a worker test positive on a “presumptive test for COVID-19,” according to the chain’s parent company Loblaw Companies Ltd. The worker was last said to have worked March 23.
The pharmacy was among nine COVID-19 cases reported at Loblaw stores in B.C. yesterday — others included several Real Canadian Superstores and Shoppers Drug Marts across Vancouver, Richmond, Delta, Maple Ridge, Surrey, Langley and Chilliwack.
Meanwhile, the Sobeys-owned Thrifty Foods in Port Moody reported a second positive COVID-19 case among its workforce in the last four days. In the first case, the worker was said to have last worked March 16, and in the latest public notification, a second worker who tested positive last worked March 17.
According to the latest surveillance report in the Tri-Cities local health area, 223 COVID-19 cases were reported across the region between March 14 and 20, a roughly 5.7% increase from the previous week.
The province’s heaviest hit areas during that same period include Surrey, the Sea-to-Sky corridor, B.C.’s north coast from the Bella Coola Valley to just north of Prince Rupert, and the southern end of the Peace River district.
