Coast Capital Savings will reopen its Broadmead Village location Saturday, three days after it was closed due to potential exposure to the novel coronavirus.
Coast Capital said the branch was informed Tuesday evening that an individual in an adjacent business might have been exposed to the coronavirus in mid-February.
The credit union decided to close for three days out of an abundance of caution.
“When we originally learned of this situation, we contacted Island Health’s Public Health Communicable Disease officials, who told us that there was no need to close our branch from a public-health perspective, nor did they believe there was a risk to the public,” Coast Capital wrote in a statement.
“However, we chose to close the branch out of an abundance of caution. The safety of our employees and members is our top priority and a key factor in our decision making.”
Coast Capital said it tried to take appropriate action without creating anxiety or panic.
Sheira Hallam, Coast Capital’s director of communications, said the branch was given a deep clean from top to bottom as an extra safety precaution.
Island Health directed the person who might have been exposed to the virus to stay at home until Friday.
Coast Capital said it has been informed that the individual at no point exhibited signs of infection, and that as of Friday morning, the person had been cleared by health officials.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has confirmed seven cases of the respiratory infection known as COVID-19 in the province. The centre said 1,012 individuals had been tested as of Feb. 27.
A statement from the centre said the province will continue to provide information about confirmed cases, but will not provide details about people in self-isolation or those involved in contact tracing.
