Second worker at Indian Land Publix tests positive for coronavirus, company says
An employee at an Indian Land Publix store in Lancaster County has tested positive for coronavirus, company officials said.
The employee tested positive in the last two weeks, said Nicole Krauss, a spokesperson for the Florida-based chain. The employee is quarantining and on paid leave while recovering, Krauss said in a statement to The Herald.
This marks the second employee to test positive for the virus at the store, at 8360 Charlotte Highway south of the North Carolina state line, according to the company.
“We have been, and will continue to be, keenly focused on intensive, ongoing protective measures in all our stores,” Krauss told The Herald.
Publix has taken measures since the pandemic began to mitigate spread, including installing plexiglass shields at checkouts, cleaning and sanitizing at all stores, Krauss said. The company also notifies any other employees who had contact with someone who has tested positive and pays those employees while they are under quarantine, Krauss said.
Other Publix employees have previously tested positive at two stores in Rock Hill on Heckle Boulevard and Cherry Road, and one in Fort Mill on Gold Hill Road, according to Publix officials.
As of Thursday morning, more than 1,600 people in Lancaster County have tested positive for coronavirus since March, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Grocery stores, deemed essential by South Carolina officials, have remained open since the pandemic began.
In August, Food Lion officials confirmed to The Herald a total of 14 employees tested for the virus at stores in York and Lancaster counties since March. Harris Teeter said in July that an employee at a Rock Hill store tested positive.
