A popular cafe on Salt Spring Island has announced they will be temporarily closing after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
The Tree House Cafe posted on their Facebook page early Thursday evening that they are making the decision to temporarily close despite no order requiring them to do so.
They say that they have been in close contact with Island Health’s Public Health team and the team has already completed contact tracing related to this case.
“Anyone deemed a potential contact has already been informed or will be informed as soon as possible and advised to self-isolate,” the Tree House Cafe wrote.
“Island Health has confirmed that the risk of exposure to customers or those not identified as a potential contact is extremely low.”
The post adds that out of an abundance of caution people who visited the cafe recently should continue to self-monitor for symptoms, and if they feel sick they should stay home and reach out for advice or testing.
The Tree House Cafe had earlier closed for table service from March 18 to May 25 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
In a statement emailed to Victoria Buzz, Island Health says that while they cannot comment on specific cases, no public notification was issued over this incident which indicates that health officials do not believe there is a risk to the public.
“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,” Island Health said.
“We currently have no new public notifications.”
Information on the latest possible exposures is posted on the Island Health website.
