VANCOUVER -- Four of Metro Vancouver’s latest confirmed COVID-19 cases are employees at two restaurants in the Tri-Cities.
The latest cases are at Browns Socialhouse in Newport Village in Port Moody, where there is one confirmed case, and at the Earls on Shaughnessy Street in Port Coquitlam, where there are three confirmed cases among staff.
According to a Facebook post from the restaurant, the Browns employee was working on Thursday, July 16 from noon to 7 p.m., and was back in the restaurant as a guest on Saturday, July 18, from noon to 1:30 p.m.
The employee learned they had potentially been exposed to the virus outside of work on Saturday, and received a positive test result on Sunday, prompting the restaurant to temporarily close its doors.
While the Browns location was closed Sunday, it re-opened Monday, with the restaurant saying it had been given approval by Fraser Health.
Contact tracing for both staff and guests is now underway.
The restaurant hasn’t said what position the infected employee works in, but noted they had been following proper protocols while on shift, including wearing a mask, washing their hands and practicing physical distancing.
The Port Coquitlam Earls location remains closed Tuesday, after three employees also tested positive for the virus.
Fraser Health says people may have been exposed to the virus at the restaurant on July 15 between 3:30 and 10:30 p.m., July 16 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and July 17 between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.
The health authority says anyone who was at the restaurant at those times should monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms and avoid crowded public spaces until July 31.
Anyone displaying symptoms should self-isolate as soon as possible for 10 days and get tested for COVID-19.
Earls Restaurants hasn’t said what positions the employees were working in.
In a statement Tuesday, the company said anyone concerned about exposure or wondering if they should be tested should call 811. Anyone with further questions is being asked to contact BC Health.
"We will not be releasing any further information at this time to respect patient privacy, and we are encouraging all guests with concerns to contact health authorities for the appropriate medical advice," the statement reads.
Earls says it was given the all-clear by Fraser Health to remain open, but has decided to temporarily close its doors at the Port Coquitlam location so it can do “a complete deep sanitation of the property.”
Symptoms of the coronavirus include cough, fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, sore throat and nausea or vomiting. Other symptoms include diarrhea, loss of sense of smell or taste, runny nose or nasal congestion, chills and loss of appetite.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Carly Yoshida-Butryn
