Home Antioch Update: Antioch Raley’s Now Says Employee Did Not Test Positive for Coronavirus

Update: Antioch Raley’s Now Says Employee Did Not Test Positive for Coronavirus

by ECT

On Monday, Raley’s announced that it has closed its doors for the day for professional sanitizing after an employee tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

Photo provided by Denise Cantrell

Editors Note — see 3:30 update for latest info on this story.

The store, located at 3632 Lone Tree Way, plans to reopen on Tuesday at 6:00 am.

According to Chelsea Minor, spokesperson for Raleys, she explained they closed the store out of an abundance of caution.

“In our commitment to be transparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have sent an email to all customers (and social media statement), who have shopped at Raley’s in Antioch for the last 30 days. No food product has been impacted or compromised..” said Minor. “On March 22, 2020, a team member from Raley’s in Antioch informed us that they tested positive for COVID-19. This individual last reported to work on March 22, 2020 – based on this exposure, we closed the store.”

She further highlighted that the health and safety of our customers is their top priority.

“We have closed for professional sanitizing by a third-party company.  We believe the chance of exposure to our customers and team members is small,” said Minor.

She also highlighted how Raley’s is committed to supporting all team members during this crisis.

  • The team member who tested positive is home and will not return to the store into authorized by a medical professional.
  • The team member who were in close contact to this person are also home and will receive paid leave.
  • The team members who were scheduled to work today, March 23 will not work, but be paid for their full scheduled shift.

In addition, they are also working closely one-on-one with team members where unique circumstances exist or arise. They also have plans and measures in place to mitigate potential exposure and to ensure as safe of an environment as possible.

3:30 pm UPDATE – a second statement was released

After an abundance of caution, Raley’s followed protocol and conducted an investigation into the alleged case.  We can now confirm that there is no known team member that has tested positive for COVID-19. In order to protect the privacy of our team members, we cannot share details at this time.

The store is being sanitized and will reopen tomorrow, March 24th at 6am. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Raley’s is committed to supporting all team members during this crisis. The team members who were scheduled to work today, March 23 will not work, but be paid for their full scheduled shift.

We continue to work closely one-on-one with team members where unique circumstances exist or arise. We have plans and measures in place to mitigate potential exposure and to ensure as safe of an environment as possible.

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24 comments

Richard lopez Mar 23, 2020 - 11:12 am

I got no email

Tanille Graves Mar 23, 2020 - 12:03 pm

Our community should be ashamed of themselves for exposing this poor person to this.

People need to take this virus seriously. They need to stop going to groceries stores weekly.
They need to learn to use sparingly, cook less, eat with purpose (not boredom), and stop hoarding.

This poor employee had no choice but to put themselves in harms way.. and this is how the community thanks them?!

Bea Vazquez Mar 24, 2020 - 12:52 am

Maybe if people ate less then they could lose weight and wouldn’t need to HOARD SO MUCH TOILET PAPER!!!
Two small meals per day aaznd a salad would suffice.

None’ Mar 24, 2020 - 4:12 am

There is no mention on where they contracted the virus and it turns out they were not exposed to the virus per subsequent reporting.

George Mar 24, 2020 - 5:40 am

Uh….this “ poor employee” wasn’t named, so how was the person exposed to ridicule or embarrassment?

Low income Antioch Rez Mar 23, 2020 - 12:16 pm

That’s kinda strange. You work a shift yesterday but today you test positive for Kung Flu? And Raleys takes the opportunity to tell everyone that the employees all get paid.Who cares.
Better explanation is that the store couldn’t keep up with demand for products and just needs to restock.

Nurse Becky Mar 24, 2020 - 12:54 am

It turned out to be a FALSE POSITIVE … happens sometimes. The employee did not have the virus.

Phillip Mar 23, 2020 - 12:44 pm

Not strange …was feeling ill,short of breath…got tested…positive result. Insensitive description of the virus…not helpful,no good reason to do it. Let’s see…who cares…the people will not try to shop there today. Cabin fever???

Deb Mar 23, 2020 - 12:57 pm

All essential businesses are on the front line…not just healthcare workers. They have a high contact rate of being near people and touching what they touch. Please stay home as much as possible people! 🙂

Bill Moon Mar 23, 2020 - 1:45 pm

Raley’s should be releasing more information. This employee could have exposed hundreds of people in a single day. What if they had the virus for a week. Could be thousands? Consider Antioch a hot zone going forward, especially in about a week.

Dorreen Oxford Mar 23, 2020 - 1:48 pm

My cousin is an employee at this Raley’s. It’s ignorant “who cares” comments that are not necessary that piss me off and, by the way, we ALL should care. The employee did not ask for this, did not deserve this. But, I’m certain he’ll jump back on the front lines as soon as he is able. As a retired Safeway worker I understand the gravity of this. Night crew work 12-15 hours nightly to restock shelves as deliveries arrive every other day. The grocery industry is the financial means for many people who go to work every day to make sure people have what they need! It is not just a place we go to for the hell of it. It is our livelihood! To Phillip: I’m so sorry that happened to you. I’m sure it must be very scary for you right now as it would be for me. Take care of you and I hope you feel better soon. Just know that somebody has your back and CARES!! To the “who cares” person: you know what you can do to yourself!

Low Income Antioch Rez Mar 23, 2020 - 4:36 pm

But the hustle didn’t work out. Seriously I couldn’t care less about some overpaid Rayley or Safeway worker who wanted paid days off or the stores with the 300% mark-up.
The panic from people who read a bs story is what bothers me.

Dorreen Oxford Mar 23, 2020 - 5:46 pm

Why comment then? I was feeling real bad for someone that commented and I named the commenter in my comment. See how crap gets turned? I named a commenter, not an employee. SMH.

George Mar 24, 2020 - 5:43 am

Pardon me, but “ Phillip” was not named in the story. Seems it is you who outed him. Get well, Phillip

Lori Mar 23, 2020 - 3:11 pm

Dorreen Oxford, Way to go by naming the person who got the virus for all to see. I guess your cousin told you who it was. No nice to do. They don’t name the people who test positive for a reason.

Dorreen Oxford Mar 23, 2020 - 5:38 pm

I only replied to the person named Philip that said he had shortness of breath and that’s all I know. My cousin has no idea who or what department. Doesn’t anybody read the comments? If the person named Philip replied and was not the worker then I’m sorry and shame on them. I only said that name because of the comment he made and I wanted that person to know I felt bad for him. I wasn’t trying to start a big hassle.

Dorreen Oxford Mar 23, 2020 - 5:50 pm

Read all comments and you’ll see why I typed that name. I wanted that person to know I read his comment and that I felt bad for him.

Lori Mar 23, 2020 - 7:21 pm

Sorry, I didn’t put that together. Monday morning cobwebs.

Anne Nonimous Mar 23, 2020 - 3:21 pm

Would be good to hear what job this employee did.
Was it a checker? Stock person, deli?
Anonymous

Low Income Antioch Rez Mar 23, 2020 - 4:29 pm

Ahhh…feels good when people like me understand bullshit when they read it. You’ll never panic when you realize that these people just saw an opportunity to get paid without working and the Raleys just needed the time to restock their empty shelves.

Yeahright Mar 23, 2020 - 4:41 pm

Glad the employee did not test positive. Whatever the circumstances of this, doesn’t really matter. The employee is ok and the store got a deep cleaning.
In my opinion, all stores should close for one day for deep cleaning and to give the employees a break from the craziness. If all stores that sold food did this, we may decrease the spread of this virus. Plus, the employees of these stores would get one extra day of rest and self care, which may improve their chances of staying healthy
Just a thought

¿Riddler? Mar 23, 2020 - 4:55 pm

So apparently the employee didn’t test Positive for the Corona Virus?

MAGA Mar 23, 2020 - 5:12 pm

Don’t believe the hype! Raleys is just saying that so that customers will shop there again. Go ahead they won’t have any long lines. Pay triple the price later when you get infected.

Jg Mar 24, 2020 - 9:46 am

Wow, all the 5th grade gossip. The exaggerated TV fake news , the innuendo , rumors , and the radio shows are really creating unnecessary stress on some people. Do your homework. Search for facts from reliable sources. Remember the news has to sell you a story to get your attention. It’s not what it use to be. Today, news is all about ratings. They could care less about you as an individual. They are just like politicians.

If all of us practice cleanliness, distance, and social respect, this will pass like other viruses. We have the greatest minds working on a solution. Keep the faith in America and get some things done around the house. Bond with your pets. Share family time safely. Remember, this is an election year and there are a lot of spins on this subject.

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