An employee at Pusateri’s Fine Foods has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), after visiting two of the gourmet grocery stores in Toronto.
On Wednesday, April 29, the company was notified of its first confirmed case of COVID-19. Although the employee in question was working primarily out of head office, they had reportedly visited the Sherway Gardens and Avenue Road locations prior to their sick leave on April 24.
“This individual is a head office employee in a supervisory role with limited interaction with customers and team members,” read a company statement. “They felt unwell on Friday, April 24 and left work that morning. They have not visited a Pusateri’s store since that time.”
Upon learning of the diagnosis, Pusateri’s said it contacted Public Health immediately with their response plan. Both of the Toronto stores are now taking all the necessary safety precautions, according to the company statement.
“We know that this individual briefly visited our Sherway and Avenue Road locations … In response we have completed enhanced professional deep cleaning at these locations out of an abundance of caution. This deep cleaning will span the entirety of the store with thorough disinfecting of all high-touch point surfaces following Public Health guidelines.”
The company is just one of many grocery stores across Toronto that have reported confirmed cases of COVID-19. Among the more recent are a Leaside Loblaws that closed on April 28 for a deep clean and sanitization after an employee tested positive for the virus, and a Costco in Vaughan that had seven employees recently test positive.
As a result, many companies have increased pay for workers on the front line. Stores are also upping their social distancing and cleaning protocols, and ramping up communications with the public.