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A top health official says Costco stores are safe places to shop despite a cluster of coronavirus cases at several South Bay stores.
The outbreak was first detected last week after 13 employees at a Costco store in Sunnyvale tested positive. Santa Clara County health officials investigated and found 18 more cases at the warehouse chain’s store in Mountain View, Gilroy, and Senter Road in San Jose.
"The initial investigation appears to tell us that the cases have really been infected most likely in the community and outside the workplace," said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, who is leading the county’s coronavirus task force.
The investigations are ongoing, but at this point health officials say the locations have been inspected and seem to be adhering to safety measures.
"They’ve done a really good job. When we do the inspections as far as all the cleanliness, their social distancing, the mask wearing, all of that has been very good," he said. "So we feel at this point it’s quite safe to shop at Costco."
Costco was one of the earlier major retailers to adopt safety measures such as requiring face coverings and physical distancing.
The health department is conducting contact tracing on the Costco cases and none of the stores were closed as a result of the clusters.
Costco has reported skyrocketing sales figures during the pandemic.
Costco has not commented on the situation.