These three liquor stores north of Montreal are closing due to COVID-19 outbreak

A man leaves an SAQ outlet on Monday, June 18, 2018 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

MONTREAL — Three of Quebec's liquor store outlets north of Montreal are closing after eight employees from the SAQ tested positive for COVID-19.

The outlets are in Blainville and Mirabel in the Laurentians:

Each of the branches mentioned will be thoroughly cleaned by a specialized firm, the SAQ said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.

Every employee who has worked at the affected outlets in recent days has been required to self-isolate as a preventative measure and take a COVID-19 test as soon as possible.

These three outlets will remain closed until further notice.

SAQ vice-president of operation Jacques Farcy said the liquor authority is "making the decision without hesitation to close these branches today and to communicate this exceptional measure in full transparency to our employees, our customers and the public."

All other SAQ outlets are unaffected and will remain open, the SAQ confirmed.

Although public health officials are not asking anyone who visited the three outlets in recent days to self-isolate, they are asking those customers to monitor themselves for any symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, dry cough, loss of taste and smell, and fatigue.

Anyone who has questions or is experiencing symptoms is asked to call 1-877-644-4545 or consult Quebec's public health guidelines for COVID-19.