A Starbucks in Port Coquitlam will be shut for over two weeks after one of its employees was diagnosed with COVID-19, confirmed the company this week.
The coffee shop, located at 2160 Hawkins Street, has been shut since March 26 and won’t reopen until April 5, according to a company spokesperson.
"We quickly activated our protocols, immediately closing the store on Friday March 26, 2021 and initiated a deep clean following all recommended guidelines from public health authorities,” wrote spokesperson Leanna Rizzi.
All workers who were in close contact with the infected person have been asked to self-isolate, Rizzi said in an email to the Tri-City News.
CLOSURE COMES AMID 'EXPONENTIAL GROWTH' IN COVID-19 CASES
The temporary closure of the coffee shop comes as public indoor dining reached a standstill across B.C. Monday at midnight.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the temporary ban on indoor dining as part of a series of restrictions designed to act as a three-week “circuit breaker” to stem the rising number of COVID-19 cases across British Columbia.
Between the weekend and Monday, 3,292 new cases were reported in the province in what Henry described Monday as "exponential growth." B.C.'s seven-day moving average — which Henry has repeatedly said indicates the trajectory of the virus in the province — has reached levels not seen since the start of the pandemic.
Food and liquor serving establishments are now limited to delivery and take-out services, though patios may also remain open.
Other measures announced Monday include the temporary closure of the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort, mandatory masking of students between Grade 4 and 12, and the reversal of an earlier order which had loosened restrictions to allow for limited indoor worship services. Fitness clubs and gyms are not also restricted to one-on-one activities.
And in another blow to B.C.'s pandemic response, the province halted the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in anyone under 55-years-old after reports that fewer than 30 people in Europe developed serious blood clots after getting vaccinated, according to Henry.
As Canadian health authorities assess the risk posed by the vaccine, Henry said the province expects more information "in the next two to three days."
