Five employees at Westwood Village Ralphs test positive for the novel coronavirus
By Sam Catanzaro
Five employees at a Westwood grocery store have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
According to John Votava, director of Ralphs division at Kroger, five employees at the Westwood Village Ralphs have tested positive for COVID-19, as reported by NBC and the Daily Bruin. One of these employees has recovered and returned to the market, according to the Daily Bruin.
Ralphs Hollywood, located at 7257 W Sunset Boulevard, has confirmed 21 positive COVID-19 cases. Other Los Angeles County markets to experience COVID-19 outbreaks include Bristol Farms in West Hollywood (five cases) and Northgate Gonzalez Markets in Inglewood (eight cases)
As of Friday, there are currently 89 confirmed cases and an additional 35 symptomatic cases as 12 workplaces in Los Angeles County, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. These numbers do not count the cases at the Westwood Ralphs.
On Friday, Ralphs announced that it will offer COVID-19 tests to all of its 20,000 Southern California employees.
According to a Ralphs spokesperson, the tests will be take-home tests and are expected to begin in mid-May. The test will utilize a swap sample which will be sent via mail, delivering results in a few days.
As of Sunday, there have been 25,662 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County, including 52 in Westwood, not counting the five Ralphs workers. Countywide 1,229 people in the county have died from COVID-19.
