Another Whole Foods SoCal Worker Tests Positive For Coronavirus

SANTA MONICA, CA — A second worker at a Whole Foods Market in Santa Monica has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Employees at 1425 Montana Avenue, near 15th Street, were notified of the second employee testing positive for the virus Wednesday with a WFM alert notification via text message, a worker who declined to be named told Patch.

Another store employee tested positive and is recovering in quarantine, the company confirmed with Patch Monday.

Store managers also confirmed both cases with several workers in-person and staff members also received text notifications Saturday about the case.

Whole Foods employees have had required daily temperature checks throughout the pandemic and are required to leave the store if they have a high temperature or feel sick.

The location is small compared to other Whole Foods stores, and managers told employees they had completed additional cleaning, an employee told Patch.

Patch contacted Whole Foods again Thursday for additional information.

As of Monday, only one team member had tested positive for the coronavirus. The company cited the employee's privacy and declined to share additional details.

“The safety of our team members and customers is our top priority and we are diligently following all guidance from local health and food safety authorities," a Whole Foods Market spokesperson told Patch. "We’ve been working closely with our store team members, and are supporting the diagnosed team member, who is in quarantine.

"Out of an abundance of caution, the store has performed a professional deep cleaning and disinfection, on top of our current enhanced sanitation measures," a Whole Foods Market spokesperson told Patch. "All Whole Foods Market stores continue to operate under social distancing and crowd control measures. Additionally, we have installed plexiglass barriers at check out, are requiring temperature checks and face masks for anyone working in our stores, and have implemented enhanced daily cleanliness and disinfection protocols in all of our stores.”

Throughout the pandemic, essential workers were receiving "hazard" or "hero" pay, often a $2 per hour increase that companies gave employees during the health crisis and ongoing stay-at-home orders. That increased pay stopped in early June, but the pandemic didn't.

Whole Foods announced a "thank you bonus" on June 29 for front line workers. These bonuses total more than $500 million companywide. Here's who benefits:

• $500 for full-time Amazon employees, Whole Foods Market employees, and Delivery Service Partner drivers
• $250 for part-time Amazon employees, Whole Foods Market employees, and Delivery Service Partner drivers
• $1,000 for all front-line Amazon and Whole Foods Market leaders
• $3,000 for our Delivery Service Partner owners
• $150 for each Amazon Flex driver with more than 10 hours in June

Grocery and drug store workers are calling on other grocery chains, including Albertsons, Vons Grocery and Rite Aid, to maintain a $2 per hour pay increase for essential workers during the pandemic as the number of cases and deaths due to the virus rise statewide.

Several grocery workers in Los Angeles County have died from the coronavirus, according to several supermarket chains, including Whole Foods and Ralphs.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million workers, has warned of the growing danger of COVID-19 for workers.

As of June 25, 238 UFCW frontline workers have died from COVID-19 and nearly 29,000 workers have been infected or exposed to the coronavirus in the U.S.

A Pasadena Whole Foods employee died from COVID-19 in May.

A Ralphs employee in Culver City and another in Sherman Oaks were hospitalized and died from COVID-19 in May.

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know

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