Staffer tests positive, 7-Eleven store shuts

7-Eleven Canada has closed one of its Douglas Street locations in Victoria after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

Customers who visited the store at 1327 Douglas St. between Monday, Aug. 10 and Friday, Aug. 14 are being asked to call the provincial COVID-19 health line at 811 for further information and guidance, the company said in a statement.

“We have temporarily closed the store to thoroughly clean and sanitize the location. We plan to reopen the store on or before Aug. 17, 2020, in consultation with the Vancouver Island Health Authority.”

The incident is one of the first on Vancouver Island where a business has been closed due to a positive test for an employee. Infection rates are low on Vancouver Island. The website for Island Health, which provides updates on the locations and times of known possible exposures to COVID-19 in the region, did not mention the 7-Eleven case on Saturday afternoon.

“Contact tracing from Island Health’s Public Health team ensures anyone potentially exposed to a confirmed case is followed up with,” a representative from Island health said in a statement.

“When public health officials cannot be certain they have reached all those who need to be contacted and there may be a risk to the public, they issue a public notification. We have no public notifications to issue today.”

A sign on the front door of the 7-Eleven at 1327 Douglas St. said the location was

“closed for cleaning,” but made no mention of COVID-19. The sign asked customers to visit nearby 7-Eleven locations for service. By late afternoon, the glass door had been covered entirely with brown paper, cutting off views into the store.

Representatives from delivery services Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes, which are listed as delivery options on the sign, did not respond to requests for comment Saturday. It is unclear if the services had drivers visit the location during the fiveday window when the employee had indications of the virus.

7-Eleven Canada said in a statement that staff at the closed Douglas Street location have been asked to self-isolate with pay. The Irving, Texas-based company has 636 stores in Canada.