No labour orders issued against Sobeys store
Ministry of Labour inspector reviewed store’s cleaning procedures
No Ministry of Labour orders have been issued against the Fonthill Sobeys store in the wake of an investigation last week about possible COVID-19 contamination.
In an email, Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development spokesperson Janet Deline said a ministry inspector was at the Regional Road 20 store last Friday.
She said enhanced screening and cleaning procedures were reviewed at the store — which was being operated by Ron Kore, who is also a Town of Pelham councillor — and no orders were issued.
Last week, Deline said the ministry investigation was prompted by news articles and inquiries from the media over the store and Kore.
Kore has been temporarily removed as the store’s operator while Sobeys’ head office conducts an internal investigation following complaints from customers and employees about possible COVID-19 contamination.
This past Sunday, Kore broke his silence on the matter and confirmed he had tested positive for the virus.
That came after Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin accused Kore of coming to a council meeting March 23 showing symptoms of COVID-19, and said he may have infected another councillor. Junkin called Kore a “highrisk individual” in an email obtained by the Niagara Dailies.
The other councillor he referred to is Mike Ciolfi, who died April 13. The Niagara Dailies have not confirmed the Ward 1 councillor had COVID-19,
as has been reported elsewhere.
Kore said he was told on April 13 that he had been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and he made a request to be tested.
His doctor was able to get him a test and Kore said the only time he left home was on April 17 for that test.
He received confirmation April 20 he had tested positive for COVID-19. That same day, he was told by public health he was “no longer infectious,” he said.
The nurse who contacted him said this meant he could “resume normal activities of work” and did “not need to selfisolate,” he said in a release Sunday.
He said he has remained in a 14-day self-quarantine since learning of the positive result.
As a 63-year-old individual with a history of heart disease, the Sobeys franchisee said he “would never take a risk with my health, the health of my wife, employees or colleagues at town hall.”
Niagara Regional Police conducted an investigation, but said based on a preliminary review it was determined a criminal inquiry was not an appropriate course of action.
Attempts to reach Kore and Sobeys for comment on the Ministry of Labour investigation were unsuccessful Thursday.