Positive COVID-19 tests close several restaurants
EDMONTON At least five Edmonton restaurants have temporarily closed within the last few days after staff and customers tested positive for COVID-19.
The number of active cases in the capital region has steadily gone up in the last 10 days, with the Edmonton zone reporting 236 active cases on Monday.
Amid the increase, GRETA Bar Yeg, the Pint Downtown on 109 Street, MKT Fresh Food & Beer Market on Gateway Boulevard, the downtown Earls Tin Palace and Round 2 on Gateway all announced temporary closures after customers or staff tested positive.
GRETA president Chris Decock said management became aware of a regular guest, who is friends with staff, testing positive last Thursday.
This resulted in the decision to close the restaurant temporarily over the weekend. He said up to 60 staff are being tested with only one result being positive so far.
“Our pre-emptive decision to close was a pretty important one,” Decock said. “There’s a lot of fear around this whole thing. Our approach is one of clarity, transparency. We (could) have another situation two weeks from now, it could be a month from now. If we are ever in doubt, even remotely in doubt, we will close down, ensure we’re good and then reopen.”
GRETA closed its doors to the public due to the pandemic on March 14 and later reopened on May 14, following the start of Stage 1 of the province’s relaunch. The restaurant was only operating from Thursday to Sunday.
Decock said he’s hoping to hear news from Alberta Health Services (AHS) regarding three more test results sometime on Monday and if they are negative he hopes to reopen on Thursday.
MKT managing partner Riley Steele in a Sunday Instagram post said one staff member tested positive and was working last Wednesday and Thursday.
“The team member was wearing (personal protective equipment) on both days, which according to (AHS) means they were not in direct contact with any guests and no guests have been identified as being required to be tested as this point,” Steele said in the post. “We are currently waiting for the office of environmental public health to provide us further details as to where we go from here and we remain committed to sharing the information as it is presented to us.”
Brendan Bailey, managing director for Milk Creative Communications, said in an email an employee at the Earls Tin Palace tested positive after passing a mandatory temperature check when he started his shift.
“However, when he began feeling unwell he was immediately sent home,” Bailey said. “During
If we are ever in doubt, even remotely in doubt, we will close down, ensure we’re good and then reopen.
his short time on shift, he had not been in contact with guests and was wearing the required PPE. (AHS) have confirmed that risk to others is considered low. The health and safety of our guests and our staff is our primary concern and the restaurant was voluntarily closed Saturday to allow for a deep sanitation of the property.”
He said after working with AHS the restaurant will reopen June 30 at 11:30 a.m.
Both pint downtown and round 2 took to social media to inform patrons that they would be temporarily closing. The Pint said a staff member who worked on June 13 was confirmed positive on Saturday. The restaurant closed Sunday to allow all staff to be tested.