2,300 people tested after Starbucks employee’s infection

A total of 2,300 people have been tested for COVID-19, after Starbucks chalked up its first coronavirus infection in the Chinese mainland, the website of the Chinese state broadcaster said on Monday on its official WeChat account.

It was reported over the weekend that a Starbucks employee at the Good World Plaza in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province was found to be infected and hospitalized.

Those who had visited the outlet within the past 14 days and all office workers in the building were asked by the local health authorities to take a free nucleic acid test at a designated site before 6 pm on Sunday.

A bar only 500 meters away from the Starbucks store had previously found multiple confirmed infections and asymptomatic cases, according to the cctv.com report.

The incident, nevertheless, could be a test for Starbucks, which has about 4,200 outlets across the country.

Chinese mainland is the second-largest market for the coffee chain after its home turf.

With its major Chinese rival Luckin Coffee embroiled in a financial fraud scandal, Starbucks is expected to regain steam, although it reported a 50-percent slide in physical outlet sales in the country during the first quarter amid the epidemic.

Starbucks has reinstated tougher anti-COVID-19 measures in Guangzhou, the US coffee chain told the Global Times on Monday.

In light of the current situation, all stores in Guangzhou have reinstated first-level anti-COVID-19 measures, including body temperature checks and a mask-wearing order for employees, all in-store customers, and food delivery staff, and regular disinfection of production areas, meal boxes and delivery vehicles, Starbucks said.