Riverbank Save Mart closes, cleans for a day after worker tests positive for COVID-19
The Save Mart supermarket in the Crossroads shopping center at Oakdale and Claribel roads in Riverbank reported on its Facebook page that it had temporarily closed after an employee tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
A post Saturday evening said the store was temporarily closed that day “out of an abundance of caution” after the company was informed of the worker’s illness. The employee most recently worked at the store on Friday.
The store underwent a complete cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing Saturday, Save Mart said. It reopened Sunday at 8 a.m.
“This is a two-step safety process,” Save Mart Public Affairs Manager Victoria Castro told The Bee in an email Sunday afternoon. “First, a professional service fogs the entire store, every nook and cranny, with a plant-based disinfectant. The fog process is safe for humans, but kills the virus. Next, a professional service sanitizes and cleans every area that is touched or handled by employees and customers.”
She also said that, following Centers for Disease Control guidelines, all employees who “may have had direct contact with the individual” also were placed in quarantine. The number of employees was not immediately available, but Castro said about 100 people work in the store during a week.
On Facebook, the store said food is safe because “there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with food.” It did remind customers that for general food safety, it is important to wash hands for 20 seconds with soap and water before preparing or eating food.
Citing privacy laws, the company did not identify the employee or say what job or jobs he or she does.
In mid-March, Save Mart CEO Nicole Pesco wrote “A note to our guests” on the company’s website in which she said, “While we always follow a thorough cleaning protocol, over the past several weeks, we have stepped up the intensity of our store cleaning, focusing on shopping carts, check stands and service counters, as well as our backrooms, break room and warehouses. Our teams have been reminded of best practices for safe food handling and continue to work with the utmost diligence.”
Castro said Save Mart takes the following measures to ensure the safety of its employees and customers:
- We provide employees with face coverings, hand sanitizer and gloves to protect them and our customers.
- We have installed Plexiglas at all of our registers to provide a protective space between our checkers and customers.
- Our stores have increased the frequency and intensity of surface cleaning in our stores, especially the check stands and shopping carts, as well as exercise surface cleaning of common areas.
- All stores have the required social distancing measures in place to protect both customers and employees.
- We ask each of our team members to closely monitor their own health during this time and stay home if they are sick.
- Our store team and our entire supply chain are trained and trusted to eliminate the spread of communicable disease in our work every day.
- We have also closed our fresh salad and hot bars for the time being and discontinued sampling.
This story was originally published May 24, 2020 at 3:48 PM.
