Middle Of The Day, New Haven Walmart Supercenter Shuts Its Doors

NEW HAVEN, CT — The always-busy Walmart Supercenter in New Haven closed its doors Wednesday with a promise it would reopen Friday at 6 a.m.

Shuttered to clean, sanitize and stock, a Facebook post read, the pharmacy is doing curbside pickup for prescriptions.

A Patch call to the store Thursday morning went unanswered.

But in a call with a Walmart corporate spokesperson, she told Patch that a store closing since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic is not unusual.

"We have done these types of proactive closures since the pandemic began," Ashley Nolan, Walmart Global Communications Senior Manager, said. "It's part of what we're doing to help during the pandemic."

She said the store will reopen Friday. When asked if the closure was related to COVID-19 cases in the store, she referred Patch to the city health department and the state Department of Public Health. Check back for updates as Patch works to confirm cases at the store with state health officials.

Recall that in November 2020, the New Haven health department found the store failed to abide by health and safety orders and at the time, had some nine violations dating back to the early days of the pandemic.

Walmart's full statement on the New Haven store closure:

"As an essential business and a member of the New Haven community, we understand the role we play in providing our customers with food, medicine and other essential items, especially at this time.

As you know, several areas across the country have begun seeing a renewed increase in positive COVID-19 cases, and we want to assist health officials working against the pandemic. In support of this effort, we have chosen to temporarily close our New Haven store location at 315 Foxon Boulevard at 2 p.m. (Wednesday) as part of an ongoing company-initiated program. This will allow extra time for a third-party specialist to further sanitize the store and will also give our associates additional time to restock shelves and prepare the store to once again serve the community. We plan to reopen the store to customers at 6 a.m. on Friday, December 31.

Everything we’re doing is for the well-being of our associates and the thousands of customers we serve daily, and in consideration of guidance by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and health experts. We will follow CDC guidance, which includes fully vaccinated people wearing masks in public indoor settings in counties with substantial or high transmission.

In these counties and where there are state or local mask mandates, associates will be required to wear masks inside our facilities, including stores, clubs, distribution centers and fulfillment centers. You can find the county-by-county breakdown here. The CDC updates its data on transmission rates weekly, so the guidance on mask usage is likely to change over time in different locations.

When the store reopens Friday, we will continue conducting associate health assessments, and all unvaccinated associates must still wear face coverings.

In addition to offering COVID-19 vaccines to customers through walk-in or online appointments, we’re also offering easy access to vaccines for associates. Associates can receive their vaccinations at their home store pharmacy, on or off the clock.

Should associates choose to schedule their vaccinations elsewhere, we will provide two hours of paid leave and up to three days paid leave, should they experience an adverse reaction. We are currently offering $150 bonuses for associates who choose to become fully vaccinated and have not previously received the vaccination incentive.

These protocols and convenient access to vaccinations are in addition to the extensive measures we’ve put in place during the pandemic to help protect our associates and customers. We will continue working closely with elected and local health officials, adjusting how we serve the community while also keeping the health and safety of our customers and associates in mind."