As the number of COVID cases in BC continues to rise, we must continue to be vigilant against the virus. We are proceeding with all of the precautions laid out in our COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan, including the provincial mandate that people must wear masks indoors in public spaces like the Co-op.
Here’s what that means:
- Medical or non-medical masks must be worn inside at all times. We have no indoor seating, and we ask everyone to refrain from eating or drinking inside, so there is no reason to take your mask off.
- We do not allow mask exemptions. A face shield or a scarf is not a suitable alternative. If you cannot cover your mouth and nose for whatever reason, we ask you to submit a pick-up or delivery order via orders@cortescoop.ca and we’re happy to put the order together for you. You can pay over the phone and pick it up outside on the deck when it’s ready.
- If you don’t remember your mask, we have disposable medical masks ready for you at the door. There is no charge at this time.
- Anyone over the age of 12 is required to wear a mask. This is the provincial mandate. Younger children are welcome to wear masks too but it is not a requirement at this time.
We ask that you send just one person inside at a time to shop. Our store and deli are relatively small so we can only allow a limited number of people at one time. We are so grateful that the vaccine came to Cortes so soon, and we thank Island Health and our local Health Centre for making this possible. However, nothing has changed yet. There are more questions than answers about what vaccination means for our community, and we still have a significant number of visitors coming from off island. Now is not the time to relax our standards.
As we do our best to take care of our community, we ask for your cooperation. This continues to be a challenging time for all of us, but we’re in it together. Thank you for your support of our community enterprise.
