Chinook Centre confirms 2 COVID-cases, continues operations

Chinook Centre is a mall in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo By Thivierr, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

A Calgary mall confirmed that two of its stores reported two positive cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but it will not close down.

Cadillac Fairview (CF), the owner of the Chinook Centre in Calgary, confirmed in a statement on Monday that the affected stores, H&M and Boston Pizza, “acted quickly and responsibly by immediately contacting Cadillac Fairview and Alberta Health Services (AHS).” It was not specified if the cases are from staff or customers but businesses in the largest shopping mall in Calgary got the memo of the announcement on Friday.

“At this point, AHS has advised that no further action is required and the building can remain open for business,” CF said.

The management called on its clients to immediately notify them and AHS in case any employee, contractor, or guest is “confirmed or suspected” to be infected with COVID-19. Meanwhile, anyone who visited these areas of the mall are encouraged to monitor themselves.

CF further said that it has implemented special cleaning in all common areas and high-touch points, measures to ensure physical distancing, included handwashing instructional signage in washrooms and increased the number of hand sanitizer stations in the mall.

Calgary, on August 1, through a bylaw, mandated its citizens to wear face masks or face-coverings in indoor public areas and public vehicles. Failure to wear a face-covering where required can result in a penalty of $50.

Face coverings must be worn in public transit (such as buses, shuttles, and CTrains), public vehicles for hire (like taxis and ridesharing businesses), public indoor spaces (such as malls, grocery stores, retail businesses, and churches), and city facilities (like recreation centres, city hall, City of Calgary buildings).