2 Marlborough Price Chopper Employees Positive For Coronavirus

MARLBOROUGH, MA — Two employees at the Marlborough Price Chopper tested positive for coronavirus over the last two weeks, a company spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. The company has cleaned the store, and notified employees who may have been exposed.

The first employee tested positive on July 20, and the second on July 23, Price Chopper spokeswoman Mona Golub said. The company was notified about the positive results around July 24, and used state guidelines to conduct contact-tracing.

The two positive employees and other workers who came in close contact with them are under quarantine, and are still being paid, Golub said. The store was sanitized during business and overnight hours.

Although coronavirus cases have dropped significantly in Massachusetts, Marlborough is still somewhat of a hotspot for the virus. The state set up free testing sites here this month due to a relatively high positive test rate, which was at 2.7 percent around July 9. The statewide positive test rate was around 1.9 percent at that time.

As of Wednesday, Marlborough had 22 active cases, up from a low of 12 on July 18 — but below the 30 active cases measured on July 27. The city added 41 new cases in July, down from the 54 new cases detected in June. No Marlborough residents have died of the virus since July 8.

About 150 people work at the Marlborough Price Chopper. Like other locations, the store is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The Marlborough store did not close at any point due to the two coronavirus cases, Golub said.