We had been wondering – in the absence of any policy announcements by Wegmans – what the procedures would be when employees were, inevitably, diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Yesterday, officials in Onondaga County, NY, said a worker at the DeWitt store had tested positive.
I believe, though I can’t be sure, that this is the first such diagnosis of a Wegmans employee.
Responding to press inquiries, the company issued a statement to Syracuse media, acknowledging the case. But it did not announce it, nor did it publish the news on its online press page.
Syracuse.com reports:
The last day the employee worked was March 23, Evelyn Ingram, spokesperson for Wegmans, said in a statement. No other details about the employee or when he or she worked were released.
“Our thoughts are with our team member and their family at this time,” (Ingram) said.
Wegmans, much loved in Upstate New York for its community-conscious, nurturing image, has been surprisingly tight-lipped about its response to Covid-19.
Its last three press releases have been about plans to hire in New Jersey and Massachusetts, and the postponement of the opening of a new store in Westchester County, NY.
The company does maintain a page about its response to the virus, but it hasn’t been updated for days.
Several grocery chains, meanwhile, have been much more transparent. HEB, based in Texas, has been widely praised for being forward thinking and open about its actions.
Frankly, I’ve been surprised at the reticence of Wegmans. After years of glowing press and a seemingly unshakeable customer base, maybe the company has become complacent.
In fairness, Wegmans has instituted a range of safety precautions, including sanitizer stations, surface wipedowns, social distancing requirements and cutbacks in hours. But it has not instituted limits on the number of people in each store; it has resisted the use of masks by its workers; it doesn’t provide sick pay; and it hasn’t announced policies for how it will respond when workers fall sick.
As an employee and as a customer, this gives me the jitters. I expected more. I still expect more.