THUNDER BAY -- The Real Canadian Superstore has sent a letter to customers confirming a staff member at their Thunder Bay store has tested positive for COVID-19.
The company said the employee has not been in the store since March 30 and upon learning of the diagnosis, they immediately closed the store and began performing a deep-clean and sanitization.
The store is expected to re-open on Saturday, already scheduled to be closed on Good Friday.
Loblaw, the parent company, confirmed the news in an email response received on Saturday morning.
"One of our team members from the Real Canadian Superstore in Thunder Bay has recently tested positive on a presumptive test for COVID-19. We are reaching out to the local public health team and have taken a number of steps to minimize risk, including increased sanitization protocols and enforcing social distancing practices in the store.
"The store has is now closed for a thorough cleaning and we expect it to reopen Saturday morning. Please note the colleague hasn’t been in the store since March 30 – almost two weeks now," said Catherine Thomas, the company's senior director of external communications.
The company said it is reaching out to the Thunder Bay District Health Unit to investigate the employee's recent shifts and direct contacts and has instructed any potentially exposed colleagues to stay home and self-isolate.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we're notifying customers who recently transacted at this store. We understand that you may have questions and want to assure you that we take your safety, and the safety of our team, very seriously. We will work with the local public health team on any further directions and encourage you to reach out to them if you need more information," the email to customers reads.
