VANCOUVER -- A COVID-19 outbreak at a fast food restaurant has prompted a warning from B.C.'s top doctor.
During her briefing Monday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry mentioned there was an outbreak at a fast food restaurant. Four or five employees have been infected, she said.
On Tuesday, Henry said she wasn't going to name the restaurant, saying it was "a small one." But she also said she isn't aware of any customers being exposed and that public health officials have since completed a full inspection of the facility.
"As we've opened up different workplaces, we have seen people having more contact in their workplace and we've seen that in a number of different settings," Henry said Tuesday.
Henry pointed to other workplaces that have had outbreaks during the pandemic, like at three Lower Mainland poultry plants where dozens of employees tested positive for the virus. In those instances, some employees had gone to work despite feeling sick because they didn't have paid sick leave.
Other outbreaks have been recorded at Walmart, including a location in Surrey and, as recently as this month, one in Abbotsford.
And, in April, a Real Canadian Superstore in Vancouver sent out a warning to customers that one of its staff members was believed to have the virus.
"This is just a wake-up call to remind people that we need to look at these situations, and we can become complacent with our workmates … we are bringing our contacts and our risk from our contacts with us into the workplace," she said.
"If we can catch it early, we can contain it quickly."
Henry said an assessment was done of the restaurant and it was determined there wasn't a risk to customers.
"There was notification done of those who were known to be at risk," she said.
