What to Know
- A New Jersey Walmart turned away customers Tuesday evening and remained closed to the public on Wednesday after dozens of employees tested positive for COVID-19, a worker at the store said
- A spokesperson wouldn't confirm just how many cases had been confirmed at the store, but an employee said that more than 90 other workers caught COVID
- Another store will now close, in Kearny, though the company did not say if any employees there were ill
A second New Jersey Walmart will close on short notice for cleaning and restocking, the company said Thursday afternoon, though it was not clear if there was a COVID outbreak there like the first store.
Walmart sent out an email to reporters just after 12 p.m. Thursday saying its Kearny location will close at 2 p.m. and remain shuttered through Saturday morning, which "will allow extra time for a third-party specialist to further sanitize the store and will also give our associates additional time to restock shelves and prepare the store to once again serve the community."
The company declined in a follow-up email to give specifics on the thresholds it uses for closing stores, but said they close for cleaning and sanitizing when certain criteria are met.
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Earlier this week, the Walmart on West Edgar Road in Linden closed "as part of an ongoing company-initiated program ... for a third-party specialist to further sanitize the store," the company said in a statement at the time. The store reopened Thursday morning.
Word of the Linden closure first came after a store employee appeared to turn people away at the front door Tuesday night, and other customers were greeted by closed doors that wouldn't open. When asked if the store was closed, the employee could be heard mentioning COVID to a customer who asked.
An employee source told News 4 the number of infections was somewhere north of 90. A Walmart spokeswoman said that number was wrong and the real total was much lower -- but declined to give an accurate figure and referred questions to the local health department. The local health department said it did not have a total and referred questions back to the company.
Walmart spokeswoman Felicia McCranie said that the retail giant follows Centers for Disease Control guidance regarding mask-wearing for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Employees at stores where state or local mask mandates are in effect are required to wear masks inside the facilities, McCranie said, and any unvaccinated workers must wear face coverings.
Earlier Thursday, New Jersey reported nearly 28,000 new infections, up 35% from the day before. As recently as Dec. 22, the state had never seen more than 7,000 infections in a day.
