SPRINGFIELD, Va. — A Giant Food grocery store associate tested positive for COVID-19 at their location in Kings Park in Springfield, Giant Food officials said.
The grocery company said the employee has not worked at the store since July 4. When they were notified of the employee's diagnosis they required the person and other employees who interacted with them to self-quarantine.
All of the associates impacted will receive sick pay during their period of recovery and quarantine, the company said.
"As we continue to provide a critical service to our community, safety is our highest priority. Since the onset, we have continually adopted store procedures to reflect the most up-to-date measures recommended by the CDC and other best practices to ensure the safety of our associates and customers. We are also listening to and reviewing daily feedback from our associates, our customers, as well as our Union partners to continue to enhance our procedures for everyone working and shopping in our stores," a Giant Food spokesperson to WUSA9.
Giant Food said they are committed to providing food and essential products to members of the community during the pandemic but will continue to urge their employees to stay home if they are having COVID-19 symptoms or are feeling sick and can't go to work.
Here's a list of safety measures Giant Food has implemented to keep their employees and customers safe:
- Set up procedures in our stores to encourage social distancing (staying at least six feet apart from other people) as well as one-way aisle traffic with floor markers.
- Installed temporary plexiglass shields for higher-traffic areas, such as our pharmacies, cash registers, and customer service desks.
- Implemented designated shopping times for seniors and those with compromised immune systems from 6 a.m. -7 a.m. daily so they may shop when the store is most sanitized and least crowded.
- Limited the number of customers that can enter a store at any time at all our stores.
- Following CDC’s latest recommendation, we have given PPE to all associates (masks, face shields, and gloves) and it is mandatory for all Giant associates to wear masks while working in the stores.
- Per local guidelines, we are now asking our customers to wear face masks while shopping at our stores
In May, three D.C. Giant Food employees tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a Giant Food spokesperson.
One of the associates that tested positive worked at the Giant location, located at 4303 Connecticut Avenue Northwest.
In a separate incident, Giant Food store employee Leilani Jordan, 27, died in April after contracting COVID-19, according to company officials. Jordan worked at the Giant in Largo, Md. Jordan's mother told WUSA9 that her daughter worked at the Giant store for six years as part of the business's disability program.
