Thornhill grocery store at centre of big COVID breakout

Torontosun.com
May 28, 2021
Liz Braun

Health officials in York Region have advised the public of a COVID-19 outbreak linked to the Concord Food Centre in Thornhill.

There are 23 cases associated with the supermarket, located at 1438 Centre Street (near Dufferin), and shoppers are being advised to self-monitor for symptoms.

Two weeks ago, a workplace outbreak was declared after 14 staff tested positive for COVID-19 -- but the situation actually began in early April.

A Public Health Notice from York Region, issued Wednesday, states:

“Anyone who shopped at Concord Food Centre from April 8, 2021 to May 21, 2021 should monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 until 14 days after their last visit to the supermarket. If symptoms develop, seek testing at a COVID-19 assessment centre.”

The statement says that York Region Public Health were onsite for an inspection on May 17.Case management and contact tracing continue.

The 23 laboratory-confirmed cases associated with this workplace include 18 cases from York Region, two from both Peel Region and Toronto, and another case from Simcoe/Muskoka.

Over half of the confirmed cases had an episode date of April 9, 2021 to May 2, 2021.

Most of the affected employees have since recovered.

Interestingly, the statement from York Region continues with three separate reminders about the importance of providing an honest history of all contacts and contact information,  with regard to stopping the transmission of COVID-19.

News of the outbreak coming so many weeks after it began has alarmed patrons of the store and created quite a furor on social media.

Angry customers question why it took so long for any notification of the outbreak, while others called for the store to be shut down.

Blame is laid at the feet of both City of Vaughn Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and York Region’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Karim Kurji.

Realtor Evelyn James’ tweet is typical of the social media reaction:

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO LET THE PUBLIC KNOW!! I AM THERE ALL THE TIME!!! WAY TO GO.”

Another irate client tweeted,  “I am so ANGRY with this. Workers wearing masks under their noses last week.I will never shop there again.You need to shut this place down and as far as I’m concerned this is negligence on their part.What took so long to notify?”

In a statement, Patrick Casey, Director, Corporate Communications, York Region, said public health had in fact conducted two on-site inspections, and the findings were acceptable, with appropriate health measures in place.

“An order requiring closure of the store was not warranted based on these inspection findings and regular cleaning and disinfection is taking place, as are other measures such as Plexiglas barriers between staff and customers at check-out lines,” he said.

Casey said York Region issued the public notice on May 26, 2021 as confirmed cases had increased since the initial outbreak notification on May 12, 2021.

“The last day a confirmed case worked at Concord Food Centre was May 21, 2021 which is timely to advise the public to watch for signs and symptoms and within the 14-day monitoring period for individuals to watch for new signs and symptoms of COVID-19.

“York Region Public Health continues to investigate this workplace outbreak and conduct case management and contact tracing. There are currently two active cases associated with this setting.”