Walmart temporarily closes after 23 workers test positive

Walmart temporarily closes after 23 workers test positive

The Walmart in Worcester, Massachusetts was temporarily closed on Thursday after 23 of its workers tested positive.

Colette Luke has more.

A Walmart in Worcester, Massachusetts was temporarily closed Thursday after 23 of its employees tested positive for COVID-19, according to local media.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) WALMART SHOPPER LEE ANEDU: “Well it's very shocking because like…I'm always here, so do I have it?" Lee Anedu gets his groceries from this Walmart every week.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NO-NAME WALMART CUSTOMER: “It's kind of scary because we are always in there and the fact that you could've been in there with someone touching things.” Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus said on Wednesday that a couple of employees tested positive early in April but the bulk happened over the past seven days.

Around 400 workers at the Walmart, he said, would be tested for COVID-19 and the store would be professionally cleaned before it reopened.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) WALMART SUBWAY OWNER MICHAEL VULCANO SAYING: “Not good.

Not good.

Tough.” Michael Vulcano owns a Subway restaurant at the Walmart and is temporarily out of business.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) WALMART SUBWAY OWNER MICHAEL VULCANO SAYING: “It's gonna create a problem in business.

People are afraid.

I mean, you can't blame them.” The closure comes as Massachusetts becomes one of the hardest hit U.S. states from the virus, with more than 3,000 deaths reported.

Walmart Worcester originally said on its Facebook page that it would reopen on Friday May 1st, , but on Thursday, it said it would notify customers as soon as the store is safe to re-open.