As the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread across Los Angeles, retailers and brands that operate businesses in the county have reported a surge in cases at their own stores and facilities.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has reported 3,434 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and 141 deaths as of Tuesday evening, which is the latest that data was available. That brings the countywide total to 1,155,309 cases and 18,500 deaths. (The agency classifies three or more lab-confirmed cases as an outbreak.)
Thousands of employees at stores, distribution centers and other facilities have contracted the illness: Four Amazon fulfillment hubs have recorded a collective 381 infections, while 479 Costco warehouse workers have been sickened. At Fashion Nova’s logistics center in Santa Fe Springs, 304 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, and at the Louis Vuitton manufacturing center in San Dimas, 80 people have been infected by the virus. Michael Kors’ distribution center in Whittier has 88 confirmed cases.
In addition, the Kohl’s location in Redondo Beach counted 18 cases, the Marshalls outpost in Pico Rivera has 17 cases and Target’s stores across the county — which is the most populous in the state of California — recorded 444 cases. What’s more, the Bottega Veneta store on Rodeo Drive and Revolve’s boutique in Cerritos have seen a respective 11 and 28 infections.
Since the outbreak hit the United States, more than 27.28 million people have been sickened by the virus, while at least 471,700 people have died. California is one of the hardest-hit states; to date, it has seen 3.45 million infections — a worrisome number as new and more contagious variants of the coronavirus threaten the country’s recovery.
In an effort to minimize the fallout from a spike in new cases, President Joe Biden has unveiled a seven-point plan that involves expanding testing and tracing services; ramping up production of personal protective equipment; providing resources for schools and small businesses; implementing a federal mask mandate; as well as manufacturing and distributing more COVID-19 vaccines.
Meanwhile, as America faces challenges in the vaccine rollout, several nationwide chains have stepped up to help administer mass inoculations as well as encouraged their own workers to receive the vaccine. Walmart, for instance, will receive vaccine allocations through the U.S. Federal Retail Pharmacy Program as soon as tomorrow, while retailers Target and Dollar General have offered paid time off to workers who get inoculated.
