Jacksons Food Stores announced Thursday one of its employees at an Ontario station was diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus. (The Enterprise/File)
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ONTARIO – The same day the Malheur County Health Department confirmed the area’s second positive COVID-19 virus case, the Jacksons Food Store in Ontario announced on its Facebook page one of its employees was diagnosed with the illness.
“Today we were informed that an employee at our Ontario, Oregon, store at 1320 S.W. 4th Ave. tested positive for COVID-19. Our hearts are with our team member and their family as they take steps needed to receive care and get well. The employee is currently recovering at home,” said the Facebook statement by the company posted Thursday.
The health department also issued its announcement Thursday but gave few details except the individual was female between the age of 10 and 19 who was recovering at home. The first COVID-19 case in Malheur County was reported Sunday.
The company also said in its Facebook post that “out of an abundance of caution, and to best protect our staff and the community they serve, we voluntarily closed to have a third-party disinfect this store with a deep clean.”
The store was deep-cleaned overnight Thursday and reopened this morning.
In the Facebook post, the company said, “contact points and personal connections” were traced to staff at Jackson Food Store locations in Parma and Notus “which will also take precautionary deep-cleaning measures as well.”
Those stores were set to re-open today and the Ontario facility was open this morning.