Information from the H-E-B located at 9595 Six Pines Drive, The Woodlands, indicates an employee who tested positive was last in the store April 7.
"All Partners at the location have been notified and the store has been deep cleaned and sanitized multiple times since then and we continue to enforce proper social distancing practices," a notice on the store's website said. "While the pandemic is an evolving situation with many unknowns, we are sure of one thing: We will do our part to help our fellow Texans in any situation our company and communities might face."
No additional comments were available from H-E-B on whether there were other confirmed cases among employees at the location.
A similar notice was posted to the website of the H-E-B at 3540 Rayford Road, Spring, stating that an employee who tested positive for COVID-19 was last in the store April 4.
H-E-B announced in early April that it would begin providing face masks and gloves to its employees. H-E-B stores are also limiting customer capacity and have implemented several additional sanitary measures, according to a March 24 statement.
Among the other stores taking precautions, Jessica Donovan, a spokesperson for the Aldi located at 2412 Rayford Road, said there have been no confirmed cases at the branch at this time and increased measures have been put in place for customer and employee safety.
"Across the country, we have installed signage and floor decals to remind our employees and customers to maintain a safe distance—at least 6 feet—from one another," Donovan said. "We’ve also installed temporary protective barriers at checkout and are continuously cleaning shopping carts throughout the day. Last week we began limiting the number of people inside our stores to approximately five customers per 1,000 square feet."
Donovan added that any employee with a temperature higher than 100 degrees will be sent home and can not return until being without symptoms for 72 hours.
Kroger, which operates several grocery stores throughout south Montgomery County, did not respond to a request for comment regarding cases of COVID-19 among its local workforce. As of April 15, the company had not made any announcements regarding coronavirus cases at its locations in The Woodlands area.
According to information released by Kroger in early April, the chain has implemented several safety measures for customers and employees over the past several weeks. The company said it would limit the number of customers in its stores to 50% building capacity, provide disinfectant wipes at store entrances, install protective barriers at check-out lanes and implement daily senior-only store hours.
In an April 6 statement, Kroger also said it was testing employee temperature checks at its distribution centers and would begin similar checks for grocery store employees. The company is also encouraging employees experiencing fever-like symptoms to stay home, and expanded its emergency leave policy to include employees with confirmed COVID-19 symptoms.
As of April 15, the Trader Joe's location at The Woodlands Crossing remained open and had not reported any coronavirus concerns. That location also offers a senior-only hour from 8 to 9 a.m. daily, and has reduced its regular store hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. According to an April 9 statement, Trader Joe's has installed spacing marks and protective barriers at check-out lines, provided employees with face masks and gloves, and limited in-store customer capacity.
