Update: Publix has now confirmed that an employee at its Sawgrass Village location in Ponte Vedra Beach has tested positive for COVID-19.
On Monday, Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous told WJCT News:
“We can confirm that we have an associate who works at store #1437, 220 Front Street, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL., has tested positive for COVID-19.”
Last week, WJCT News reported that this was the case, according to what appeared to be an internal message sent to the store’s employees.
A customer at the store also told WJCT News she called the store’s manager, and the manager confirmed the diagnosis. The customer asked to remain anonymous.
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Other customers also reached out to WJCT News with concerns about the store, as news of the diagnosis has been circulating on the Nextdoor app.
A screenshot from Nextdoor, shared with WJCT News, shows the email sent to employees at the Sawgrass Publix, confirming an employee was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. The email screenshot, posted the weekend of March 28 and which was later deleted from Nextdoor, also said the employee’s direct associates had been notified and were self-quarantining.
Store No. 1437 is the location in Sawgrass Village, on Front Street in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Prior to Monday, WJCT News had reached out several times to a Publix spokeswoman and asked her to verify the employee’s diagnosis and what is being done at the store in response.
Brous did not directly answer those questions and instead sent the following statement in an email to WJCT News:
“As an essential service provider, the health and well-being of our customers, associates and communities are our top priority.
We are proud of how our dedicated associates are taking care of our customers and each other through this unprecedented and challenging time. And, we thank our customers for continuing to trust us with providing them with the goods and services they need.
Like other essential service providers, we have seen our own associates and their families personally impacted by COVID-19. Unfortunately, as public health officials have indicated, we expect to see an increase in cases as the virus spreads in our communities. The testing and reporting of cases by health departments varies widely state-by-state. As a result, we cannot fully and accurately report cases in real time, but we have been, and will continue to be, keenly focused on intensive, ongoing protective measures in all our stores.”
Publix earlier had confirmed employees in Georgia and elsewhere in Florida have also tested positive for COVID-19.
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Contact Heather Schatz at hschatz@wjct.org.
