Parksley Dollar General closed following positive COVID-19 test by employee

The Parksley Dollar General location has been closed until further notice. A sign appeared on its doors Friday morning which read “Closed Until Further Notice.”

We received the following statement from Angela Petkovic from the Dollar General Corporation Public Relations:

“At Dollar General, the health and safety of our employees remains our top priority.

“We can confirm that an employee at our Parksley store tested positive for the coronavirus, and our employees at this store have been notified. To protect the privacy of our employee, we are not disclosing any specific information regarding our employee’s identity or health status. Our thoughts are with our employee, and we wish them a quick recovery.

“Upon learning this, we took preventative measures to close the store. After an extensive and thorough cleaning by a third-party cleaning company, we expect to resume operations to support the essential work and services that our stores are performing for the communities we serve.  All employees are being paid for regularly-scheduled hours during this time.

“All of our 16,300+ stores have implemented social distancing measures designed to help both employees and customers remain six feet apart, and stores continue to close one hour early to allow for employees to clean each evening. We have made gloves available and are actively working to distribute facial coverings to employees who choose, or are required by local governments, to wear them.  Employees may wear their own facial coverings as long as disposable masks are appropriately discarded and fabric masks are laundered after each use.  We are providing additional hand sanitizer to stores for employee and customer use. Additionally, work is underway to install approximately 40,000 sneeze guards at all checkout registers across our 16,300+ stores to enhance safety for employees and customers.

“Prior to this individual’s diagnosis, we established response protocols for employees who have been impacted by COVID-19, including those who have tested positive.  We are requiring this individual to stay home and not return to work for at least 14 days after their confirmed diagnosis, unless otherwise advised by a medical professional.  In line with our previous communications to ll employees, our Parksley employee will also be paid for regularly-scheduled hours during this quarantine period.

We also continue to communicate with our employees on a regular basis to remind them of steps to help contain or avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus, as well as steps they should take if they experience symptoms or have been in touch with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.”

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