VANCOUVER -- B.C. health officials have announced a new community outbreak of COVID-19 in the Fraser Health region.
Speaking during a news conference Thursday afternoon, deputy provincial health officer Reka Gustafson said nine people had tested positive for the coronavirus at a Loblaws warehouse in Surrey.
In a news release, Fraser Health confirmed the outbreak at a distribution centre located at 2755 190 St.
All of the people who have tested positive so far are employees, the health authority said, adding that everyone working at the facility is now being screened for symptoms and contact tracing is underway.
There is no evidence of risk of transmission to those outside the distribution centre, Fraser Health said.
Everyone who has a confirmed case of the coronavirus or is a close contact of a confirmed case has been instructed to self-isolate, the health authority said.
Fraser Health said the facility is currently operating at normal capacity, and health officials are working with warehouse staff to strengthen the facility's COVID-19 mitigation strategies.
The health authority says there is no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted through the consumption of packaged foods, nor is it transmitted as a foodborne illness.
Several other food processing facilities in the Lower Mainland have seen outbreaks of COVID-19 among their workers since the pandemic began. Each time, health officials have stressed that there is no evidence that food processed in a facility with an outbreak could lead to further transmission of the virus.
