YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. — Nearly 150 employees at a Costco store in Yakima County are infected with coronavirus.
Lilian Bravo, Director of Public Health Partnerships with the Yakima Health District, said in a press release on Tuesday, Dec. 29 that 145 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. All staff members who have tested positive are currently completing their isolation or quarantine periods.
"After reviewing the number of cases, and the timeline in which they were identified, there is evidence to show that this sharp increase in cases mimics the type of activity that happens after some sort of superspreader event where multiple people are infected at the same time," Bravo wrote in the press release.
The health district first reported the outbreak on Christmas Eve, when at least 68 staff members had tested positive.
The Yakima Health District's COVID-19 Outbreak Response Team follows up with companies where large outbreaks are identified to request information on all employees who have tested positive for the virus, which department they work in and where they tested positive, according to the press release.
Site-wide testing was recommended for Costco given the large number of infected employees, Bravo said in the press release. This means testing is provided for all employees, regardless of whether they were identified as an initial close contact to a positive COVID-19 case.
Costco will continue to provide ongoing, site-wide testing for its employees moving forward, according to the press release.
The Yakima Health District has not recommended that any business close due to COVID-19 infections among its staff. Businesses with identified outbreaks are provided education on employee testing, return-to-work guidance, and cleaning and disinfecting practices.
All businesses with outbreaks in Yakima County have followed recommendations provided by the health district, Bravo said.
"These businesses have not shown ongoing transmission after these recommendations have been implemented," she wrote. "Other businesses in the community that have closed after identifying positive cases of COVID-19, have decided to do so on their own, out of an abundance of caution, and not because of a recommendation to close from the Yakima Health District."