Colorado Springs King Soopers employee tests positive for coronavirus, health alert sent out to the community


Colorado Springs King Soopers employee tests positive for coronavirus, health alert sent out to the community

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – An employee at a Colorado Springs King Soopers has tested positive for COVID-19.

The employee works at the location at Academy and Woodmen and was last there on the 28th.

The El Paso County Health Department wants to alert anyone who may have been in the store on the following dates:

– March 19
– March 21-25
– March 28

“Based on our assessment of the situation, and the fact that this individual worked several days while experiencing symptoms, we felt it was important to make people aware,” said Dr. Robin Johnson, El Paso County Public Health Medical director. “While there is no need to panic, we encourage people to monitor for symptoms, and to follow the steps outlined below should they begin to feel ill.”

The health department was alerted Sunday night and has since been working with the store on sanitation and cleaning procedures.

“King Soopers has been diligently following all disinfecting guidelines from local, state and federal public health agencies, and has been regularly disinfecting and cleaning,” the health department said in a statement released late Monday morning.

11 News has been reaching out to Kroger, the company that owns King Soopers. Members of the public have wanted more specific information on the patient including what department the person worked in.

“The privacy of our associates and customers is of upmost importance to us and to protect the identity of this individual we cannot disclose the department where they worked,” Jessica Trowbridge with Corporate Affairs for King Soopers and City Market wrote to 11 News. “The last day the employee worked was on March 28th. We activated our preparedness plan several weeks ago, and we’ve been taking actions to keep our customers and associates safe and healthy and our stores open and operating efficiently… Immediately upon learning of this case, we partnered with state and local health experts and followed all sanitation and cleaning procedures.”

Trowbridge added the company encourages associates to monitor their health and if they exhibit flu-like symptoms at work they should go home and contact their doctor. Trowbridge said If an associate has flu-like symptoms at home, they should not come to work.

“As of March 14, we have enacted our Emergency Leave Guidelines policy, allowing paid time off for associates diagnosed with COVID-19 and for associates placed under mandatory quarantine by their medical provider because of COVID-19,” Trowbridge continued to write. “These guidelines have been expanded to include paid time off for self-isolation and symptoms as verified by an accredited health care professional. In each scenario, associates will be eligible to receive their standard pay for up to two weeks (14 days). For those affected by COVID-19, we have also made available additional resources through our Helping Hands fund – a company-sponsored fund that provides financial assistance to associates who are experiencing a financial hardship due to an unexpected or emergency situation.”




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