Lowe’s employee tests positive

An employee at Lowe’s in Lorain has tested positive for novel coronavirus, according to company officials.

Pedro Chen, a senior public relations analyst for Lowe’s, said the employee last worked March 16 and has been quarantined and is receiving care.

After following the preventative guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the store at 7500 Oak Point Road in Lorain will remain open, Chen said.

The store was cleaned extensively and “in an abundance of caution,” an unconfirmed number of associates who had worked closely with the individual over a period of time are on placed on paid leave.

The age and gender of the individual is unclear at this time.

In a March 20 release from Lowe’s President and CEO Marvin Ellison, the company committed $25 million in support of the emerging needs of associates, customers and communities including a $10 million donation in essential protective products.

The company was adding 14 days of emergency paid leave for associates and have extended telemedicine benefits, Ellison said.

Additionally, Lowe’s have temporarily reduced store hours and are closing all locations at 8:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and at 7 p.m., Sundays.

“This will provide additional time for essential product replenishment and to thoroughly clean and sanitize our stores daily,” Ellison wrote. “In addition to our enhanced cleaning efforts across the store, we’ve taken increasing measures to ensure our cashiers and front end teams are regularly cleaning their work areas and registers after each customer interaction.”

Lorain County Public Health declined to comment on the specifics of the case, citing organizational policy.

As of 2 p.m., March 24, Lorain County logged 29 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton updated the state’s most recent numbers with 564 confirmed cases, eight deaths and 145 hospitalizations across 49 counties.