Denver – Health authorities have ordered the closure of a Walmart in a Denver suburb because three people who were related to the establishment died after getting COVID-19 and that at least six employees tested positive for coronavirus.
The Tri-County Health Department announced Thursday night the death of a 69-year-old man who worked for a private security company at Aurora Walmart, as well as those of a 72-year-old employee and her husband, 63, who did not work on site.
In its order to close the store immediately, the Health Department referred to the infections as an “outbreak” among employees, noting that the store had not complied with the social distancing provisions set forth in the confinement order issued by Colorado and that allowed some establishments considered essential, such as Walmart, to continue operating.
The Health Department attributed its decision to various complaints from employees and customers about the absence of healthy distance in the store, the presence of many people inside at the same time and employees who did not wear masks.
Walmart said in a statement Friday that in recent weeks it has limited the number of people who can be in the store at the same time, that it installed clear barriers on the lines of the cashier boxes and pharmacy areas, and placed stickers on the entrances and rows for boxes to help customers keep their distance from each other.
“We recognize how difficult this is for our associates in Aurora and all those affected by this difficult situation,” the company noted. “We want to do everything we can to support them at this time. We will continue to work closely with the Health Department and take any additional steps that are necessary to reopen the store. ”
The Health Department did not disclose the dates of the deaths. Walmart said according to its files, the 72-year-old woman last worked in late March. The place has about 300 employees.
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