Publix is not the only store in the county with employees who have tested positive for coronavirus.

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Employees at 10 Publix grocery stores in Palm Beach County have now tested positive for coronavirus, a spokeswoman for the chain has confirmed.

All of the stores are located either in West Palm Beach or in cities to the south, where the virus has permeated deeply in the county.

Winn-Dixie and Walmart did not respond to a request for comment on the status of their store employees.

Publix is not the only store in the county with employees who have tested positive for coronavirus. And the 10 stores with confirmed positive cases are but a fraction of the chain’s 77 locations in Palm Beach County.

In other words, the vast majority of Publix stores in the county do not have an employee who has tested positive for the virus, which has put a spotlight on the importance of the low- and moderately paid people who stock shelves and work cash registers.

Public health and political officials have long been concerned about the virus’ impact in southern Palm Beach County because of the large number of older residents who live there. Older people and people with underlying health issues are among those at greater risk of suffering complications from COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus.

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Publix, like other businesses that have remained open during the outbreak, has taken a series of steps to combat the spread of the virus. It has installed plexiglass sneeze guards at cash registers and customer service desks, taped off space to encourage customers to remain six feet away from each other and wiped down grocery carts.

But the number of stores in the county where employees have tested positive for coronavirus raise questions about whether Publix took those steps quickly enough and if the steps are sufficient to protect employees and the public.

Maria Brous, director of communications for Publix, said the chain’s anti-virus protocols have evolved with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We have taken several measures for the health and well-being of associates and customers, and we continue to keep them at the forefront of the decisions we make," Brous said.

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The 10 stores with an employee who has tested positive are located at:

-Clint Moore Road in Boca Raton

-South Federal Highway in Boca Raton

-North Congress Avenue in Boynton Beach

-Jog Road in Delray Beach

-Glades Road in Boca Raton

-Hagen Ranch Road in Boynton Beach

-South Federal Highway in Delray Beach

-Southern Boulevard in Royal Palm Beach

-South State Road 7 in Royal Palm Beach

-South Military Trail in West Palm Beach

Brous said Publix employees who test positive are quarantined and given paid leave for 14 days. Colleagues who were in close contact with an employee who tested positive are notified, quarantined and given paid leave for 14 days.

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An employee web portal listed 88 Publix stores in Florida where an employee has tested positive for coronavirus. That list was forwarded anonymously to a reporter for The Palm Beach Post, which asked Brous whether the chain would confirm its accuracy.

Brous said she could not immediately confirm the accuracy of the entire list, but she did confirm the positive tests of employees at stores in Palm Beach County, all of which were on the list provided by the anonymous tipster.

The national union that represents grocery store workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, has called for its members to be deemed first responders, a designation typically reserved for the police and fire rescue.

The union has started a campaign called #ShopSmart to keep grocery store workers safe.

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"The coronavirus pandemic represents the greatest health and safety crisis that America’s grocery and food workers have ever faced," UFCW International President Marc Perrone said in a recent statement. "Since the beginning of the outbreak, these workers have been on the front lines of this terrible pandemic. While tens of millions of Americans were told to work from home for their safety, grocery store and food workers have never had that option. More must be done to protect them and our food supply now."

Perrone said the union wants grocery stores to provide all employees with gloves and masks and given additional time to wash their hands regularly. The union also wants stores to have customers practice social distancing.

A recent survey of 5,000 grocery store workers found that 85 percent said customers are not practicing social distancing.

"Grocery workers are deeply concerned," Perrone said. "The fact is that this pandemic represents a clear and present danger to our nation’s food supply and all grocery store workers."

wwashington@pbpost.com

@waynewashpbpost