Regina Superstore announces presumptive COVID-19 employee

UPDATE: The Real Canadian Superstore Golden Mile in Regina reopened on Friday.

Original story continues here.

An employee at the Real Canadian Superstore Golden Mile in Regina is now among those to have a presumptive case of COVID-19.

Superstore informed its customers via email on Thursday.

In an email sent directly to Global News, Superstore confirmed the situation and said the employee had not been working at the location since March 28 after showing symptoms.

It said “a team member has recently tested positive on a presumptive test for COVID-19 at our Real Canadian Superstore Golden Mile – Regina” and that all precautions were being taken to keep staff and customers safe.

Superstore said the store was immediately closed to “perform a deep-clean sanitation.”

The grocery store has reached out to the local public health authority to investigate the employee’s recent shifts and direct contacts.

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Superstore is instructing any employees who may have been exposed to the infected member to stay home and self-isolate.

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“They assess who are the people who were in contact with the person at the place of work, in social settings, in the household,” said Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer.

“So based on that, if they can find all the contacts in the work setting there’s no reason to give a public advisory, but if all the people can’t be reached in a short period of time, then a public advisory is given.”

The store is expected to reopen on Friday.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.

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Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.