Patagonia Stopping Operations Due To Coronavirus; Offering Regular Pay To Employees

VENTURA (CBSLA) -- Ventura-based clothing company Patagonia announced Friday that it is temporarily stopping in-store and online operations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The scale of impact is still unknown, and we want to do our part to protect our community especially," said CEO and President Rose Marcario.

All employees are set to receive regular pay during the closure period.

Workers who are able to fulfill job duties remotely will do so.

"We apologize that over the next two weeks, there will be delays on orders and customer-service requests," Marcario said.

With eight stores, California has more Patagonia locations than any other state.

There are retail stores in Ventura, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Cardiff By The Sea and Palo Alto.

"We encourage our friends everywhere to take the extra precautions necessary to safeguard their health and that of others," Marcario said. "It's everyone's responsibility to help stop the spread of this virus."

The company said it will reassess and post an update after the two-week period is up on March 27.

For placing online orders, Patagonia said in a separate message to check for updates on March 16.

Coronavirus has sickened more than 144,000 people globally. More than 1,900 have tested positive in the U.S. and at least 40 have died, according to data obtained by Johns Hopkins University.

To stay up -to-date on local L.A.-area coronavirus news, check out CBSLA's dedicated webpage.

Monitor the CDC website for information about how to stay safe during the pandemic.