Shoppers at Vancouver store, passengers on several flights warned of COVID-19

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/08/2020 (2270 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER – The health authority in Vancouver is warning those who shopped at the Foot Locker on Robson Street to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19.

Vancouver Coastal Health says the potential exposure dates were Aug. 4 and Aug. 5 during operating hours.

It says the possible exposures are believed to be low risk, but it asks those who may have visited the store during that time to monitor for symptoms and get tested if they are feeling ill.

Advisories have also been issued for passengers on several planes arriving or leaving Vancouver after positive COVID-19 tests related to those flights.

Affected flights including Alaska Airlines flight 2930 from Seattle on July 31 and United Airlines flight 375 from San Francisco, although all passengers entering Canada from international destinations are required to self isolate for two weeks.

Air Canada passengers on flight 304 from Vancouver to Montreal on Aug. 1 have also been told to monitor themselves for symptoms.

A joint statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix on Tuesday said there were 46 new cases of COVID-19.

Active cases have grown to 472 with eight people in hospital, including five in intensive care.

There have been 4,111 cases of COVID-19 detected across the province so far, while 3,444 people who tested positive have recovered.

The death toll remains at 195 people with no new deaths for more than a week.

“As we look to fall, what we’ve learned from other jurisdictions is that transmission in a school setting is a reflection of what’s happening in our communities; keeping our community transmission low and slow keeps us all safe,” says the statement from Dix and Henry.

Education Minister Rob Fleming announced on Tuesday that students wouldn’t be returning to class as originally planned on Sept. 8.

He said the government was looking at a more gradual return with classes starting later in the second week of September.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2020.