Another Foodland employee tests positive for coronavirus

Another Foodland employee has tested positive for the coronavirus, this time at Foodland Farms Pearl City.

The state’s largest locally-owned grocery chain said it closed the store early today at 2 p.m. for thorough sanitation and cleaning by a professional sanitation company. The store will reopen at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The employee, a part-time cashier at Pearl City store located in the Pearl City Gateway Center, last worked in the late afternoon and evening on Friday and was confirmed positive today by the state Department of Health.

The employee passed a wellness check before starting the shift and wore a mask while working behind a plexiglass barrier, the company said, but later developed a mild headache on Monday.

“We continue to believe that the strict safety policies and protocol we’ve put into place at Foodland – from making it mandatory for employees and customers to wear masks at all times, requiring that employees pass wellness checks before starting work, cleaning and sanitizing routinely, limiting the number of customers in stores, enforcing social distancing, installing plexiglass barriers and more have helped keep our customers and more than 2,600 Foodland employees safe,” said Jenai Wall, Foodland chairman and CEO in a news release. “However, we must stress the importance of following safety precautions at all times, and today employees were urged to recommit themselves to acting cautiously and conservatively and making the right decisions when not at work by wearing masks when around others and avoiding closed spaces, close contact, and crowds in order to stay safe and protect themselves and those around them.”

Foodland Farms Pearl City’s 189 workers were notified of the infection, and some were required to self-quarantine as a safety precaution.

On Monday, an employee at Foodland on School Street tested positive for the coronavirus. Three employees at the School Street location who worked in close contact with the first COVID-19-positive employee have so far tested negative for the virus.

Customers in the Pearl City area can use the grocery delivery and curbside pickup service, Foodland To You, at shop.foodland.com. The service is available at 11 locations statewide.

The retailer said it is working closely with representatives from the Department of Health to ensure proper safety procedures. The kamaaina company operates 33 stores — under the Foodland, Foodland Farms and Sack N Save brands on four islands — and has more than 2,600 workers.