EPC Public Health advises deep cleaning for stores with employees testing positive for COVID-19

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- El Paso County Public Health Department is advising store owners to thoroughly sanitize their premises after an employee tests positive for the coronavirus.

Sammi Jo Lawson, the retail food program manager for EPC Public Health, says companies can either hire a third party or do the cleaning themselves.

“That can also be just as effective and we make sure that they are fully aware of what that guidance is and what precautions they need to take," she said. "And after it’s complete, we do another follow-up with them to make sure it was done appropriately.” 

On Tuesday, the county health department confirmed an employee at a local Walmart and Pizza Hut tested positive for the virus over the weekend. A spokesperson for Pizza Hut said the store was closed temporarily for a deep cleaning by a third company.

Lance Ray, the owner of "Restoration 1," says his company has seen a surge in calls to disinfect other businesses.

“It’s something invisible so you don’t really know where something is at," he said. "You’re basically just cleaning very very thorough."

Although much of the cleaning in workplaces is done by employees or third parties, Rays says the customers also have a responsibility to keep it safe.

“I think at some point people need to be going into these places wearing gloves, wearing masks," he said. "And that’s really the only way to keep their facilities cleans. I mean it takes one person walking in right after we clean for it to be infected again.”