Lowe’s Home Improvement off Military Road in Columbus reopened at 6 a.m. today after an employee tested positive earlier this week for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Columbus Mayor Robert Smith had ordered the store closed Wednesday after a Lowe’s manager confirmed an employee at the store had tested positive for the disease Tuesday.
The employee has been self-quarantining at home, Smith confirmed to The Dispatch during a virtual press conference Thursday afternoon.
On Thursday morning, Smith, Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong and City Attorney Jeff Turnage met with local and district managers of Lowe’s to make sure the store would comply with protocol laid out by the Mississippi State Department of Health and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
Lowe’s said it had hired a third party to perform a deep-cleaning of the store, and at 1 p.m. Thursday, 15 employees entered the store along with management to clean the store further.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, steps for cleaning a facility where someone has been sick include closing off areas used by the sick person, cleaning them with soap and water and disinfecting them.
“We just want to protect the employees of the store and protect the citizens, and the only way that we can do that is to follow up and make sure that the businesses are following the CDC guidelines,” Smith said in the press conference.
Smith said Lowe’s had video camera footage that could determine who came in contact with the sick employee but store leadership had not reviewed the footage as of Thursday morning’s meeting.
The mayor said he directed Police Chief Fred Shelton to send someone to the store around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday after receiving an anonymous call from a close relative of another Lowe’s employee, who gave the name of the sick employee. After a store manager confirmed the positive test had been brought to a supervisor’s attention Tuesday, Smith directed the store to close until further notice.
“Lowe’s is a great corporate member of our community,” Smith said in a statement Thursday morning. “We look forward to the store reopening Friday, and I greatly appreciate the cooperation of the corporate management.”
Smith also said Thursday he has requested a “social distancing monitor” to break up groups of 10 or more people six or fewer feet apart inside and outside the store until the pandemic is over. Signs inside the store Friday morning urged customers to remain at least six feet apart while shopping and in checkout lines.
“Lowe’s has been totally cooperative and forthcoming with us during this time,” Smith said in a press release today. “I want to thank them for their cooperation and willingness to work with the City of Columbus during these challenging times.”
The Dispatch could not reach the store’s manager or district manager by press time.
Hardware stores are among the businesses Gov. Tate Reeves deemed essential and therefore not subject to closure through the shelter in place order that will begin at 5 p.m. today.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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