Walmart Temporarily Closing Avon, Abington Stores Due To Coronavirus Cases
AVON (CBS) – Two more Massachusetts Walmart stores are closing temporarily due to coronavirus concerns.
A company spokesman announced that its Avon location will be closing for cleaning. In addition, the Abington store will also close for a second time.
"While we followed our process at our Abington store, we have made the decision to close the store again to work with the health department to test our associates and others who work in the building," said regional general manager Eddie Bostic. "In Avon, we've seen the impact in the local community, which has also been felt in our store. The nature of this virus makes it nearly impossible to track the source of anyone's infection, so we are planning to work with health officials to review our measures, and determine additional steps, such as COVID-19 testing for associates and others who work at the store."
The closures come after 81 employees at a Worcester Walmart tested positive for coronavirus. The store closed, but has since reopened.
In Quincy, 11 employees tested positive and one died. The store was shut down by the city and plans to reopen Friday following a deep cleaning.
"We've been monitoring our stores, executing cleaning practices and bringing in third-party experts to sanitize stores while also working with local officials on additional proactive actions," said Bostic. "Those efforts have also included voluntarily closing stores temporarily – an especially tough decision when customers are relying on us more than ever for the essential items they need."
