MURPHY - A Lowe's employee who tested positive for COVID-19 kept working for nearly two weeks while experiencing symptoms, the Cherokee County health department announced on April 10.

County health officials said the employee's behavior — continuing to work at a retail store while experiencing symptoms — will make it difficult to identify people who might have been exposed.

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The employee had experienced COVID symptoms for nearly two weeks before seeking medical treatment, according to the announcement.

While anyone who experiences COVID-19 symptoms illness should self-isolate immediately, Cherokee County Health is asking people who visited Lowe's between March 22-April 7 to self-isolate for 14 days if they were "in contact with anyone who was less than 6 feet from you for 10 minutes or longer," according to an April 10 Facebook post by CCHD.

The individual is now isolated in Cherokee County, the post said.

Distancing, cleaning now legally required in stores

Gov. Roy Cooper mandated new social distancing measures for essential businesses statewide via an executive order issued April 9. Cooper said the measures are necessary to prevent retail stores from becoming "flashpoints" for the virus.

More:Coronavirus: NC mandates social distancing, max occupancy in stores

Effective 5 p.m. April 13, stores must ensure their occupancy remains less than 20% of the stated fire capacity or fewer than 5 people for every 1,000 feet, Cooper said.

"Stores must also mark 6 feet of distance at places where people need to gather, like checkout lines, and they must perform frequent environmental cleaning and routine disinfection," he said.

"If the order is not obeyed, law enforcement has the authority to issue citations — punishment as a Class 2 Misdemeanor under the law," Cooper said.

Elizabeth Anne Brown is the trending news reporter for the Citizen Times. Reach her at eabrown@citizentimes.com, or follow her on Twitter @eabrown18.

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