There are currently 24 businesses in the Fraser Health region that have been shut down by the health authority for coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission.
A new system for triggering closures and subsequently reporting them that puts more control in the hands of each of British Columbia's five health authority regions was announced by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on April 8.
On April 12, Fraser Health added a "Workplace closures" page to its website.
"Workplaces continue to see COVID-19 transmission, clusters and outbreaks," explains Fraser Health.
"When three or more people in a workplace have COVID-19 with likely transmission in the workplace, the workplace will be ordered to close, helping reduce transmission of COVID-19 in our communities," notes the health authority, per Dr. Henry's orders.
"The closure notice may be served by Public Health or WorksafeBC and the closure will remain in place for a minimum of 10 days to prevent further transmission of COVID-19."
Reporting began April 12 in Fraser Health, and 13 businesses went on the closure list. Those businesses include restaurants, retail stores, and even an outpost of Service BC. Only one of the named locations, Sasquatch Mountain Resort in Agassiz, was the subject of a public exposure warning.
On April 13, Fraser Health shut down five businesses in the region, and on April 14 another six were ordered closed.
Vancouver Coastal Health: They 'have not issued a closure order to any businesses in [the] region on these grounds'
Meanwhile, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) did not create a section on its website for its region's "workplace closures" until the morning of April 15.
On Thursday, VCH added a section to its existing "public exposures" page to list any "workplace closures."
A media representative for VCH told V.I.A. by email Thursday that there wasn't anything to report so far: "Since April 8, VCH/WorkSafe BC have not issued a closure order to any businesses in our region on these grounds. We are committed to continuing to ensure workplaces remain safe environments for staff and employers across our communities."
However, VCH has been continuously listing restaurant closures on a separate existing section of its website, though the nature of those closures are reported as being simply due to "Communicable Disease" at the location, or, in the cases of Gusto - A Taste of Italy or Corduroy, for violating public health orders. All of those listed closures happened on April 8 or earlier.
When asked if the numerous Vancouver, Richmond, and Whistler restaurant closures from the first eight days of April 2021 marked as being due to "communicable disease" were because of COVID-19, VCH declined to comment, citing privacy reasons. However, one of the restaurants listed as being shut down by VCH for "communicable disease," Score on Davie in Vancouver, has publicly indicated they had closed due to a COVID-19 case tied to the restaurant (though they indicated the closure was voluntary). Score did not respond to a request for comment from V.I.A. regarding its closure.
What businesses have been shut down in Fraser Health due to COVID-19 transmission in the workplace?
Here are the closures reported as of April 15 in Fraser Health:
April 12
Crescent Beach Marina
12555 Crescent Road, Surrey
Service BC - Maple Ridge branch
175 22470 Dewdney Trunk Road, Maple Ridge
Cactus Club Café - Southpoint
15079 32 Avenue, Surrey
24 Hour Flex Fitness Club Surrey
213 – 7130 120 Street, Surrey
Evergreen Kitchen Cabinets
118-119, 12651 80th Avenue, Surrey
Blue Pearl Mortgage
200 - 5570 152 Street, Surrey
The Keg Steakhouse & Bar - Coquitlam
130 - 2991 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam
Lago Marketing
19652 86 Avenue, Langley City
Sasquatch Mountain Resort
20955 Hemlock Valley Road, Agassiz
One Stop Kitchen Idea Ltd.
12989 80 Avenue, Surrey
Bobby Hair Studio
120 - 5738 175th Street, Surrey
Joey Coquitlam
550 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam
Foot Locker - Guildford Mall
10355 – 152 St, Space 1016, Surrey
April 13
Midland Liquidators - Surrey
19335 Langley Bypass, Surrey
CDI College - Burnaby
3777 Kingsway, Burnaby
Genie Seniors Services (Moving), Chilliwack
5410 Dollyvarden Lane, Chilliwack
CKF Inc. - Langley
19878 57A Avenue, Langley
McDonalds - Ottawa Street, Port Coquitlam
2330 Ottawa Street, Port Coquitlam
April 14
Greystone Super Valu
1601 Burnwood Drive, Burnaby
Fitness World -Suter Brook
220 Brew Street, Port Moody
Cheetah Transport
9785 192 Street, Surrey
My House Design Build Team - Surrey
15356 Fraser Highway. Surrey
H&M - Surrey
10355 152 Street, Surrey
Western Canada Coatings
1160-580 Seaborne Avenue, Port Coquitlam
