WASHINGTON — An outbreak of coronavirus infections at an upscale Complete Meals within the coronary heart of the nation’s capital has centered cons
WASHINGTON — An outbreak of coronavirus infections at an upscale Complete Meals within the coronary heart of the nation’s capital has centered consideration on the plight of grocery retailer staff deemed important to remain on the job throughout the pandemic however more and more falling sick to its ravages.
The Complete Meals close to Washington’s fashionable Logan Circle advised staff on Wednesday {that a} employee had contracted the virus, one in every of at the very least six, however that the shop wouldn’t shut, in keeping with a report by WUSA, an area CBS-affiliated station. As an alternative, managers would order a deep cleansing with staff staying on the job, in keeping with an electronic mail despatched to staff that was obtained by the station.
Employees had been free to take go away with out penalty by the tip of April, the e-mail stated, however it will be unpaid.
An worker on the retailer, who declined to be recognized, handed a observe to a New York Occasions photographer there on Tuesday stating that 16 staff on the location had been confirmed to be contaminated, a major outbreak in a metropolis that has thus far escaped the horrors of New York, Detroit and New Orleans.
In an electronic mail, a spokesman for Complete Meals confirmed that the shop had “a number of staff members” with diagnoses of Covid-19, the illness brought on by the coronavirus, however that the positioning had “undergone a number of deep cleanings and disinfections” in a single day in current days that allowed it to stay open throughout common enterprise hours.
One other Complete Meals location in Washington’s Foggy Backside neighborhood was beforehand closed to the public for cleaning after a worker tested positive for the virus, but the company’s spokesman said the closure was warranted only because overnight cleaning was not available.
Such problems are not isolated. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents over 900,000 grocery workers nationwide, estimated on Monday that 30 of its members had died from Covid-19 and another 3,000 had taken sick days after showing signs of illness or other possible coronavirus-related complications. The union also said that in a survey of 5,000 of its members, 85 percent said customers in their stores were not practicing social distancing as recommended.
Though Washington has not had the dramas of other cities, it is considered an emerging hot spot, with nearly 2,200 infections and 72 deaths. Its rate of infection, measured against the district’s small population, is above average compared with the states.
The city has required essential businesses to take a variety of steps to enforce social distancing, sending food retailers rushing to install trappings like hand sanitizer stations, plexiglass barriers between workers and customers, and floor stickers marking the government-recommended six-foot separation distance.
However, the protocols largely leave it to stores themselves to enforce other guidelines such as the requirement that patrons to wear masks while shopping. More serious measures like closures of essential stores have also been left to management.
At another Whole Foods location in the city’s H Street corridor, foot traffic in and out of the store was funneled to a single entrance, where a guard was stationed to turn away shoppers without a mask.
Last week, officials at the daily White House task force briefing began listing Washington as one of the cities most likely to see a spike in coronavirus cases over the coming weeks, alongside Baltimore and Philadelphia.
As cases have increased, local officials have been forced to balance efforts to enforce public health initiatives with the need to ensure access to groceries.
Earlier this month, a Trader Joe’s store in Washington temporarily closed for cleaning after an employee tested positive. The retailer lists at least 18 future closings at other locations around the country on a running list on its website.
A spokeswoman for the Washington’s Health Department said essential businesses were not legally required to make a public disclosure about whether employees had tested positive for the virus. But according to protocols, retailers that do not comply with the mayor’s order could face civil penalties and license revocations.
The danger associated with working in grocery stores that see hundreds of shoppers each day has led to protests from workers involved in getting groceries to consumers. Last month, employees of Whole Foods and workers who fulfill orders for the grocery delivery service Instacart organized strikes over what they described as hazardous working conditions and insufficient protections.
Marc Perrone, the president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, said many workers have been forced to make do with limited protective gear as masks and other personal protective equipment, or P.P.E., have been diverted to medical workers and others dealing directly with people who are already symptomatic or known to be exposed to the virus.
“Masks and P.P.E. ultimately went to first responders first, and then highest bidders,” Mr. Perrone said. “Some of our employers that we deal with lost shipments that were sent to other countries.”
But Mr. Perrone stressed that grocery store workers still come into contact with scores of shoppers on a daily basis, many of whom may be asymptomatic carriers.
Whole Foods employees are not represented by the union, but a coalition of employees who staged a “sickout” to protest working conditions in March have planned another protest on May 1, according to The Guardian.
The dilemma facing grocery stores comes amid a larger debate between policymakers and public health experts about how quickly to relax social distancing guidelines in the interest of spurring economic activity.
On Tuesday, Representative Trey Hollingsworth, Republican of Indiana, joined other lawmakers calling for a return to more normalcy, telling an Indianapolis radio station that deciding between continuing the stay-at-home orders and getting people back to school and work would be up to Congress.
“It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these evils and we intend to move forward in that direction,” he said. “That is our responsibility, and to abdicate that is to insult the Americans that voted us into office.”