Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cluster Identified at Local Walmart

EAST WENATCHEE – On Wednesday, July 22nd, nursing staff at Chelan-Douglas Health Distict (CDHD) reported a cluster of 21 positive COVID-19 cases associated with Walmart employees in Wenatchee, Washington. One (1) of the employees is from Grant County and 20 are Chelan or Douglas County residents. A CDHD nurse contacted Walmart management to provide instruction and guidance for all positive-tested employees and anyone who may have been exposed.

All positive-tested employees are asked to isolate for at least 10 days or until they no longer have COVID-19 symptoms including no fever for 24 hours. Recommendations from public health include identifying and contacting anyone who may have been exposed to the positive employees and asking them to quarantine at home for at least 14 days. CDHD also provided updated Departmant of Health (DOH) instructions relative to positive cases: exposure, cleaning and disinfecting and employee contact tracing.

The recent uptick in local cases makes it difficult for CDHD to quickly identify local clusters. Local contact tracing efforts are now done by DOH. Although employers are required to report to public health whenever two (2) or more employees test positive for COVID-19, it is up to each employee to disclose their positive test result with their employer.

Public health urges everyone to mask-up and social distance in public. Please limit the number of household members who go to the grocery store or run errands – it truly minimizes the risk of bringing the virus back into your home or exposing empolyees to COVID-19. For more information, visit www.cdhd.wa.gov/covid-19 and follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

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