Walmart Forced to Shut Down Due to The Coronavirus

A Walmart store located in Aurora, Colorado was forced to shut down after one of its staff, her husband, and a third-party security contractor, died as a result of the coronavirus. In addition, six of its other employees also tested positive for coronavirus, with three other employees suspected of having the virus as they awaited their test results. Public health officials immediately contained the risk of the virus spreading further by shutting down the store.

It is feared that there may be more cases of people who contracted the virus by visiting the store. The public health department said that its decision to close the store came after some employees and shoppers complained about the “lack of social distancing, too many people in the store at one time, and employees not wearing masks or face coverings.” There is a high probability that more people got infected with the virus by simply paying a visit to the Walmart store under such conditions.

The executive director of the Tri-Country Health Department, Dr. John Douglas regarding the coronavirus deaths said: “These deaths underscore the severity of the highly-contagious coronavirus, and the need for diligent safety precautions to prevent any further spread, including the wearing of masks.”

The Colorado Walmart store has realized the damage caused by its laxity and failure to adhere to the coronavirus guidelines. A spokesperson from the store admitted that Colorado had been badly hit by the coronavirus, mentioning that “several associates at the store have tested positive.” In addition to this, the spokesperson said “one of our associates has passed away. The temporary closure will allow third-party cleaning experts to further clean and sanitize the store.”

After taking responsibility for its laxity, Walmart has taken new safety measures to curtail the spread of the virus by installing plexiglass barriers at the checkouts and social distancing markers within the store. It has also ensured that workers have their temperatures taken before entering the stores, and ensure that they wear masks while on duty. In addition, it said that there would be a limitation on the number of customers who can be in a store per time.

Three Democratic senators, on Thursday, wrote to Walmart CEO, urging them to place more priority on the health and safety of its workers by taking necessary precautions to ensure that.

Walmart isn’t the only department store that has had members of its staff die from the coronavirus. Quite a number of retail stores and grocery store workers have either died of the virus or tested positive for coronavirus. These numbers are assumed to be in their thousands, however, the stores have declined to mention the exact numbers as they believe it is up to the public health departments to collate the numbers.