81 Worcester Walmart Employees Positive For Coronavirus

WORCESTER, MA — Almost all the 400 employees at a Worcester Walmart have been tested for coronavirus, and the total number of cases there has swelled from 23 to 81, officials said Saturday.

Worcester ordered the Tobias Boland Way Walmart closed on Wednesday after officials found out through social media about a coronavirus cluster there. The store cannot reopen until all 400 employees have been tested, and after a deep cleaning.

As of Saturday, 391 employees had been tested, officials said. Two-hundred and fifty-eight were tested on Thursday, and 119 on Friday.

Citywide, 2,297 Worcester residents have tested positive so far during the pandemic. About 114 people have died at Saint Vincent Hospital and UMass Memorial Health Care hospitals so far, up seven compared to Friday.

There are also 280 people being treated for coronavirus at those hospitals, and 105 of them were in intensive care. Hospitalizations were down from Friday when 284 were being treated and 107 were in intensive care.