WASHINGTON — A D.C. Whole Foods employee at one of its store locations in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Other than confirming that the employee tested positive, not other details were released on the employee or their health status.
Whole Foods did say that the team member was not taken by ambulance from the store, which had been a circulating rumor.
The store is temporarily closed to be clean, according to Whole Foods.
"The safety of our Team Members and customers is our top priority and we are diligently following all guidance from local health and food safety authorities," said Whole Foods. "We’ve been working closely with our store Team Members, and are supporting the diagnosed Team Member, who is in quarantine. Out of an abundance of caution, the store did temporarily close to perform an additional deep cleaning and disinfection, on top of our current enhanced sanitation measures. We will open for business shortly."
Whole Foods has implemented enhanced daily cleanliness and sanitation protocols across all stores and facilities, on top of our standard stringent protocols.
Also, Whole Foods has started closing stores up to two hours early to give employees more time to restock shelves, sanitize its stores and rest in preparation for the next day.
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