3 Food Lion workers in Lake Wylie, Lancaster SC positive for coronavirus, company says
Three workers at Food Lion grocery stores in York and Lancaster counties have tested positive for coronavirus, company officials said.
Two employees at the Lake Wylie store on S.C. 557 east of Clover tested positive, said Matt Harakal, external communications manager for the grocery chain. The employees last worked on June 3 and 8, Harakal said.
An employee at the store on North Main Street in Lancaster also tested positive after last working on June 3, Harakal said.
“These are isolated incidents, and none of the associates had close contact with each other,” Harakal said in a statement to The Herald. “None of the associates will return to work until cleared by health officials.”
The chain operates 14 stores in York, Chester and Lancaster counties in South Carolina. Food Lion is based in Salisbury, N.C., northeast of Charlotte. The stores remained open, company officials said.
Both stores received extra cleaning after learning of the positive tests, Harakal said. Employees at both stores also went through additional health screenings, Harakal said.
“In an abundance of caution, we took immediate action to execute an enhanced cleaning procedure as guided from the local, state and national health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control,” Harakal said. “These cleaning procedures are in addition to our ongoing, rigorous sanitary practices, which have been greatly expanded during the health crisis.“
Grocery stores, deemed essential in South Carolina, remained open after the pandemic began.
A Publix employee at the Fort Mill store tested positive in March, said Maria Brous, a spokesperson for the Florida-based chain.
Several businesses in York and Lancaster counties have reported positive cases among its employees.
An employee at a YMCA in Fort Mill tested positive in early June, officials said. Six employees at Maclean Power Systems in York tested positive in May.
In Fort Mill, an employee at Shutterfly facility tested positive for the virus. Also, an employee at the Lowe’s Home Improvement in York tested positive in April. An employee at the Bojangle’s restaurant in Lancaster tested positive in April.
York County has reported 570 positive COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in March, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Lancaster County has reported 234 cases and Chester County has had 114, official state numbers show.
In the past week, York County has had the highest weekly number of cases since the pandemic began in March, with more than 150 since June 5, state and county officials said.
