VICTORIA -- A popular Victoria eatery has temporarily closed its doors after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
Bear and Joey, located at 1025 Cook St., announced on social media Friday that the restaurant would be closed for cleaning, out of an abundance of caution.
The restaurant says a staff member, who was working on Sept. 17 through to Sept. 21, never interacted with customers, had no symptoms while at work, wore a mask and regularly washed his hands while at the restaurant.
Bear and Joey says that any chance of transmission to staff or customers is “extremely low,” according to information provided to the business by the BC Health Authority (BCHA).
The employee did not feel ill while working and went into self-isolation after provincial contact tracing staff reached out to him saying that one of his close contacts had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Once the employee was made aware of the situation, he self-isolated and sought a COVID-19 test, which has since come back positive.
“While (the BCHA has) not advised us to close, we have decided to be extremely precautionary and close Bear and Joey temporarily while we work with BCHA to commence a robust review of our restaurant,” said the eatery in a statement on social media Friday.
“We will be undertaking some deep cleaning and making sure every precaution is taken to safely welcome you back,” said the restaurant.
No reopening date has been set for the eatery, but Bear and Joey says announcements will be made on social media when ready.
The restaurant adds that contact tracing staff will call any customers that may have been exposed to the virus, though it is a “highly unlikely event.”
“We thank you so much for the wonderful support that you have provided to us since we opened, we look forward to seeing you all again soon,” said the restaurant.
