Costco COVID ‘overspread’ outbreak: at least 145 workers in a Washington megastore contracted the virus and health officials warn that even more may be infected
- At least 145 Union Gap, Washington Costco employees tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Tuesday
- The store, which employs 383 people, will remain open despite the outbreak
- Authorities say they do not know the cause of the outbreak, but the wave ‘mimics the type of activity that happens after some kind of over-spreading event’
- Officials say the number of infections rose rapidly from 68 on Thursday to 145 on Monday, and say more cases are likely to arise
At least 145 employees at a Costco store in Washington state hired COVID-19 in a massive outbreak that officials say is similar to an ‘overspread event’.
Infections at the Union Gap site, which employs 383 people, were first reported on Tuesday after store-wide testing.
Yakima County health officials said the increase in cases “mimics the type of activity that occurs after some type of over-spreading event in which several people are infected at the same time.”
Now the authorities are trying to find out how the outbreak started.
An outbreak of COVID-19 at a Costco store in Washington state has prompted at least 145 employees to contract the virus and the sudden increase in infections is similar to an “over-spread event”, officials said on Tuesday. A view of Union Gap, Washington Costco, where the oubreak occurred above
The Union Gap unit employs 383 people and will remain open with coronavirus prevention measures. Costco is one of the stores that remained busy with shoppers during the pandemic, as it sells food and basic items. A view of buyers at a Costco in Vermont in August above
Officials say the number of infections rose rapidly from 68 on Thursday to 145 on Monday, and say more cases may arise.
“As Costco continues its testing across the site, we anticipate that the number of cases will continue to increase in the coming days as results are received,” said Melissa Sixberry, director of disease control for Yakima County, of according to KOMO News.
The store can remain open despite the outbreak and all 145 workers with a positive test are isolated.
However, officials say the outbreak is not an isolated incident, but reflects an increase in cases across the state.
‘COVID-19 activity levels continue to increase across the county. We need community help to also follow COVID-19 safety recommendations so that we can keep workplaces safe, so that we can keep schools safe, so that we can keep each other safe by not overwhelming our health care system, ‘Dr . Larry Jecha, interim health officer for Yakima County, said.
On Tuesday, Yakima County recorded 19,281 cases of coronavirus in total and 314 deaths.
Across the country, there have been more than 19 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 342,000 deaths reported since the pandemic began.