COVID-19 protocols has hit about 30 per cent at some stores and is continuing to rise, Gary Sands, senior vice-president of public policy with the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, said Tuesday.Without access to rapid testing in many provinces, he said workers are repeatedly forced to isolate for a week or more after an exposure to COVID-19.If the situation worsens, some grocery stores won’t be able to stay open _ threatening food security in rural and remote areas that rely on a sole independent grocer, Sands said.
Truckers warn vaccine mandate at U.S. border could worsen supply chain issues “If we have to keep sending people home, at a certain point stores are not going to be able to operate,” he said. “We’re very frustrated with the lack of rapid test kits for grocers.”Health Canada has made some rapid test kits available directly to companies in critical sectors, including the food industry, with 200 or more employees.But many independent grocery stores don’t meet that threshold, putting those kits out of reach, Sands said.Yet many grocers cannot obtain rapid tests through provinces either, he said.“Independent grocers are in a myriad of communities in this country where there is no other grocery store,” Sands said.