Walmart store closes after 81 workers test positive for coronavirus, MA city says

A Walmart store in Massachusetts is temporarily closed after 81 employees tested positive for coronavirus, officials said in a news release.

On Tuesday, the Worcester Division of Public Health inspected a Walmart store in the city after reports that 23 workers had tested positive for COVID-19, the release said.

City Manager Ed Augustus said the earliest positive results were received on April 8 followed by a cluster of positive cases in the last three weeks, WCVB reported. Most cases occurred over the last week, according to the outlet.

During the inspection, public health officials discovered that neither staff members nor customers were wearing appropriate personal protective gear, the city said.

Officials ordered the store temporarily closed until it could be professionally cleaned and sanitized then reinspected, the release said. A professional company cleaned the store overnight on Wednesday.

“Our inspectional services department will inspect the facility to make sure that the cleaning was done in compliance with our guidelines,” Augustus told WCVB.

Worcester Emergency Medical Services began testing a total 391 Walmart employees for coronavirus Thursday, the city said. By Saturday, 81 had tested positive for the virus.

In an email to McClatchy News, Walmart said the number of those who tested positive includes both store associates as well as employees from other companies which lease space inside the store.

The store posted a statement to Facebook on Thursday, lauding its workers for serving the community during the pandemic.

“Now more than ever before, customers are relying on Walmart for the essentials they need for their families, and our associates are doing heroic work serving their communities,” the post said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we will temporarily close our store on Thursday, April 30th to allow extra time for third-party specialists to further sanitize the store.

“It will also give our associates additional time to restock shelves and prepare the store to once again serve the community during this unprecedented time. We’ll be sure to notify you as soon as our store is safe to re-open.”

Worcester has 2,297 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Saturday and 114 deaths, the release said.

This story was originally published May 3, 2020 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Walmart store closes after 81 workers test positive for coronavirus, MA city says."