A Starbucks employee in Seattle — where the global coffee giant was founded in 1971 — has been diagnosed with Coronavirus, causing the store where he worked to close, the company said Friday.
The employee is self-isolating at home and, according to Bloomberg, was a barista at the shop.
Starbucks reps said they learned of the positive test late Thursday and had been preparing for several weeks for an employment case.
On Thursday, the chain announced that it was temporarily halting its practice of refilling customers’ reusable cups, again in reaction to the virus.
“We quickly activated our protocols, immediately closing the store and initiating a deep clean overnight, following all recommended guidelines from the City of Seattle and King County public health authorities,” Starbucks said in a statement, pledging to reopen the downtown location “very soon.”
“These officials have encouraged us to reopen the store after further preventative cleaning, which we have already conducted, staffed by partners who have no known impact from COVID-19,” the statement went on.
The barista’s diagnosis was just the latest in Washington state, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in the United States.
Health officials have confirmed at least 85 cases in the state along with 13 of the country’s 14 coronavirus-related deaths.
