QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - A Walmart in Quincy is closed after a worker died from the coronavirus and 10 others tested positive for the deadly virus, health officials said.
The store on Falls Boulevard was ordered to close after the workers, including one who passed away, tested positive for COVID-19, according to Quincy Health Commissioner Ruth Jones.
Crews are now working to disinfect and clean the store.
The store will remain closed until all employees are tested for coronavirus.
“The health commissioner has been in touch with corporate Walmart and they made a decision on their own to close down and clean the store entirely and test all employees,” Quincy Mayor Tom Koch said. “Until further notice, the Walmart in Quincy is shut down and the health commissioner fully agrees with that decision.”
Jones said the department has been monitoring this situation closely after receiving complaints a week-and-a-half ago from both employees and customers.
“The most complaints, they wey weren’t enforcing social distancing like they should. There were a lot of crowds in there. People were crowded inside, people were crowded outside, employees were coming back still symptomatic,” Jones said.
In a statement to 7NEWS, spokesperson for the retailer said:
“As a company, we will continue to monitor our locations in and around the Boston area, and beyond, and may make decisions to close a store temporarily to undergo additional cleaning and restocking, similar to what we have done at other stores across the area and the state.”
A Walmart in Worcester is working to reopen after more than 80 employees tested positive.
There, 81 out of nearly 400 workers tested positive for COVID-19.
That store is likely to reopen on Tuesday after having undergone two deep cleanings and inspections.
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