A Safeway in New Westminster has seen a staff member test positive for COVID-19.
Parent company Sobeys Inc. made the announcement on its case-tracking website. The staff member worked at the Safeway at 800 Carnarvon St., which is located in the New Westminster SkyTrain station.
The last day the employee worked was Dec. 1, said the company, which did not detail which department the employee worked.
The news comes a day after Loblaw Companies Ltd. announced a new COVID-19 case at one of its pharmacies in New Westminster.
A worker at the Shoppers Drug Mart at 610-Sixth St. tested positive for COVID-19. The employee last worked at the New Westminster location on Nov. 30, according to a posting on the Loblaw case-tracker website.
The posting does not say which department the employee worked in.
A steady rise in the number of new COVID-19 infections in the past four days has helped B.C. set a new record for the number of people actively battling the viral illness that has spawned a global pandemic.
Of the 9,587 people with active infections, the vast majority have been told to self-isolate at home, although 342 people are now in B.C. hospitals—down four from yesterday, but not far from the record 359 hospital patients on December 7. Of those hospitalized, however, a record 87 people have illnesses serious enough to be in intensive care units.
There were 11 new fatalities among people who were infected with the virus, which is down substantially from the record 28 people who were reported to have died in a 24-hour period that ended yesterday, but still a high number that had not been seen in B.C. until November 17. In total, 598 people in B.C. have so far died with COVID-19.
The number of new cases identified in a day climbed for the fourth straight day, to 737. In total, 40,797 people have been infected with the virus since it first appeared in the province on January 28.
- With files from Glen Korstrom, Glacier Media
