VANCOUVER -- Nine more businesses in B.C.'s Lower Mainland have been forced to temporarily close their doors over the last week because of likely COVID-19 transmission between employees.
Eight of those businesses are in the Fraser Health region, which includes Surrey and other ongoing coronavirus hotspots, while the ninth is in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.
They include a trucking company, a poultry processor and a White Spot restaurant. The latest closures were all ordered between May 7 and 12, according to the health authorities' websites.
Fraser Health has also added two public exposure notices, both involving recent dance competitions.
The first exposure happened at the Core Dance Competition, which was held at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Centre in Abbotsford earlier this month. The exposure dates and times are listed as 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 5 and 8, and 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on May 6.
The second happened at the Synergy Dance Competition, which was held at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in Surrey. That exposure took place from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 7, according to Fraser Health.
Anyone who was at either of those locations during the hours specified should self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19, then seek testing and self-isolate if any develop, the health authority said.
Since the beginning of April, more than 100 businesses in the Lower Mainland have been ordered to close due to likely transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace.
The vast majority of those closures have taken place since April 12, when the province began allowing WorkSafeBC prevention officers to serve businesses with shutdown orders after three or more employees test positive for the disease.
The closures last for at least 10 days. Once the orders are lifted, business names are removed from the health authorities' closure websites.
While WorkSafeBC officers deliver the closure orders, they only do so at the direction of a local medical health officer.
Some businesses may not be forced to close after three employees test positive if health officials don't believe transmission happened in the workplace, or if it's determined to be in the public interest to keep them open.
Businesses and workplaces that might be allowed to stay continue operating after likely transmission include police and fire stations, health care facilities, grocery stores, schools, daycares and courthouses, according to the Fraser Health website.
The most recent additions to Lower Mainland business closure lists follow, organized by the dates the closures began.
May 7
- Sunrise Poultry Processors, Surrey
- BC Frozen Foods Ltd., Mission
- Sandhar Trucking Ltd., Richmond
May 8
- Deltech Consultants Ltd., Surrey
- Van Noort Bulb Company, Abbotsford
May 9
- Arcteryx, New Westminster (manufacturing/office closure only)
May 10
- White Spot, Maple Ridge
May 12
- Prabu Foods, Surrey
- Petro Canada (Mayfair), Coquitlam
