![\"\"](\"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/mcdondalds.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\u201cWe had a couple of workers about ten days ago with Covid and we decided on our own out of caution to close the restaurant and to clean it thoroughly,\u201d a manager at the local McDonald\u2019s said this morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The McDonald\u2019s plans to reopen about 2 pm on Tuesday, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stanley Neal owns the Berkeley Springs McDonald\u2019s and a string of others in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and Western Maryland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo business is immune to the ongoing threat of COVID-19, and our highest priority is to protect the health and well-being of our employees and customers,\u201d Neal said in a statement released by McDonald\u2019s headquarters in Chicago. \u201cWe recently learned that an employee at our restaurant in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia tested positive for the coronavirus last Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs soon as we were notified of the confirmed case, we alerted local public health authorities who strongly recommended that we close our doors for at least 72 hours,\u201d Neal said. \u201cIn compliance, the restaurant was promptly closed to endure a thorough sanitization procedure and will re-open tomorrow afternoon.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe also identified and reached out to all restaurant staff who had been in close contact with the employee who contracted the virus. These employees have been asked to self-quarantine to ensure they remain healthy before returning to work. We have been in contact with our employee and are providing support during this time. Our people are the heart and soul of our McDonald\u2019s family. We are keeping this employee in our thoughts for a fast and full recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bill Kearns of the Morgan County Health Department said this morning that he didn\u2019t know about the Berkeley Springs McDonald\u2019s case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut we have had employees of stores and restaurants that have had Covid,\u201d Kearns said on WRNR\u2019s Eastern Panhandle Talk with Rob and Dave this morning. \u201cIf you just have one case or so, you close down for a while and do a thorough deep cleaning. We consider two or more cases to be an outbreak.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt that point, we need to do an outbreak investigation, which takes a little bit longer. During the times of Covid when we are having sometimes 100 or more people testing positive every day (in Berkeley and Morgan counties), we know there are going to be some of those people working in restaurants,” Kearns said. “They are taking a pro-active approach and they close. They close on their own. It\u2019s not by order of the health department. They make sure everything is deep cleaned and the staff are taken care of to keep everyone safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The health department wouldn\u2019t say whether an outbreak investigation had been opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morgan County Covid cases have been spiking in recent weeks, with 468 confirmed cases and two deaths, an infection rate (number of new cases per 100,000) in recent days of over 70 and and a percent positivity rate (number of confirmed lab tests that are positive) of over 8 percent. That has put Morgan County back in the red, which means that Morgan County schools will not be open for in person instruction this week.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The McDonald\u2019s in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia has been closed since Thursday due to Covid. \u201cWe had a couple of workers about ten days ago with Covid and we decided on our own out of caution to close the restaurant … Continue reading