WILLITS, 8/6/20 — A Mendocino County spokesperson has confirmed that at least three employees of Walmart in Ukiah have at some point tested positive for COVID-19, two of them recently. Sarah Dukett, spokesperson for Mendocino County and Public Health explained that one employee tested positive several weeks ago, and another two in the past week.
Seven new cases of COVID were confirmed in Mendocino County today, and hospitalization spiked to a record of 13 people in the hospital with one in the ICU. There have been a total 363 cases confirmed in Mendo since the outbreak of the pandemic, and the death toll from COVID remains at 10.
The two employees who tested positive at Walmart this week are currently in isolation and not working — however, it is not clear if they worked at the store while ill, contagious, or in between being tested and receiving a result. The substantial lag time between testing and getting back results means that there can be a great deal of ambiguity around this, and Dukett explained that Public Health’s case investigation is ongoing.
A store manager at Walmart declined to comment on the situation, providing a phone number for the corporate media relations. A message at that number instructed reporters to fill out and online form. The response to that inquiry was a boilerplate response that can be seen below. As such no answer has been forthcoming from Walmart as to whether these workers were on the job while ill or otherwise contagious with the disease.
Statement from Walmart corporate:
Please know we take COVID-19 concerns very seriously. Our practice is to leave COVID-19 confirmations up to the local health officials out of respect and privacy for our associates’ personal health information. The health department is the local authority on if and when such information should be reported for the safety of the community, but rest assured we are also taking all measures necessary to safeguard the well-being of those inside our stores, fulfillment centers and distribution centers. We have been working to ensure our stores are cleaned and sanitized regularly. We are focused on serving our customers and keeping our associates safe during this unprecedented time and we’ve implemented several measures in consideration of guidance by the CDC and health experts intended to help bring peace of mind.
Specifically, we have/are:
Enacted deep-cleaning and sanitizing protocols with guidance from the CDC and Walmart’s Chief Medical Officer.
Conducting health screenings and temperature checks on our associates prior to them beginning their shifts. Should an associate have a fever (100 degrees or higher) or answer “yes” to our screening questionnaire, he/she will be asked to return home until symptoms subside or they go through necessary COVID-19 protocols.
We are requiring associates and customers to wear masks.
Posted signs at store entrances reminding customers of the importance of wearing masks.
Installed plexiglass barriers (sneeze guards) at our checkout lanes and pharmacy areas. (photos attached)
Installed floor decals at the entrances and in checkout lanes that show exactly how far six feet is, making it easier for customers to judge the proper social distance from each other.
Limiting the number of customers who can be in a store at the same time.
Adjusted operating hours to 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. to help associates restock shelves while continuing to clean and sanitize the store.
In the event we do have a confirmed case at any of our stores, we are working with those associates and offering guidance and time needed to receive medical care. Associates have been encouraged to prioritize their health and stay home if feeling sick. We also implemented a COVID-19 emergency leave policy (extended through July) for all associates who feel unable or uncomfortable coming to work.
You can find additional information on steps we’ve taken to help the community, our associates and even our venders during this time in the below links.
Here is the link to the dedicated website about our COVID-19 response
Walmart Corporate
Here’s some of our past reporting on the case totals:
Can the Mendocino boys ask the health authorities about whether they are requiring better ventilation in the stores? Sanitizing surfaces does not appear to be as important as cleaning the air regularly with HEPA filters and better ventilation! I would love to see our local health authority comment on this. Thank you for all your reporting 🤗
Thank you for keeping us informred. You must in force people to wear a mask,oherwice is not going to work.
I’d be interested to know if the yellow and blue graph lines are indicating that these persons were specifically hospitalized due to covid, or were they hospitalized for other reasons but tested positive upon admission, or sometime during their hospital stay.
I’d also find it worthy of note and investigation the baseline health of deceased patients, and if there were others mitigating factors that may have contributed or caused their death as indicated by the black lines on your graph.
And finally, I’d be most interested to see research on the incidence of mask-wearers catching covid as shown in your graphs. We’re they utilizing the protective measures that our government is instituting and still succumbed?
I was just in Walmart 8/7/2020 and did not see any plexiglass protecting their checkers at their stations, or the customer. Just saying……..
Why is this place not shut down? Every other Walmart closed when employee infection occurred. I will be reporting this all the way to congress.