10:15 p.m. Update: In an email to employees, Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario confirmed that an employee was not exposed to a coronavirus patient.

A Reno employee reported to Patagonia that his roommate had fallen ill with the virus, prompting the company to close its downtown outlet store as well as its national call center and distribution center. Shortly after news of the shutdown broke, the Washoe County Health District investigated the claim and determined it was false.

Marcario said in her email that the Patagonia operations will remain closed Tuesday and will reopen on Wednesday.

"We made a decision earlier today to close our operations in Reno until we had definitive results that our colleagues were not exposed to COVID-19," Marcario wrote. "We did this because your health is our top priority. We found out late this evening that the information we received about one of our employees being potentially exposed was false."

Company spokeswoman Corley Kenna did not provide additional details late Monday about the story the employee told his manager. But she said all businesses should be "prepared to take extraordinary actions to protect our community."

The call and distribution centers employee hundreds of people in Reno. Employees will be paid for their time off due to the coronavirus scare.

"The emotional toll of this kind of false report is unmeasurable, especially given the severity of this crisis," Marcario wrote.

7:10 p.m. Update: A Patagonia employee in Reno apparently fabricated his story of being exposed to the coronavirus, according to the Washoe County Health District, which investigated the claim.

Patagonia closed all of its operations in Reno on Monday, including its call center and outlet store as a result of its employee's claim.

But health district spokesman Scott Oxarart said the employee's claim was not true.

"We investigated the potential exposure and determined that the information provided to Patagonia was false," Oxarart said.

The employee had claimed he lived with someone who tested positive for the virus. Washoe County has had two presumptive positive results since Thursday. But Oxarart said the Patagonia employee had no exposure to the two patients.

"It was completely false," Oxarart said.

Oxarart said the health district has told Patagonia about its findings.

The Reno Gazette Journal has reached out to Patagonia's spokeswoman for comment.

Original story: Outdoor retailer Patagonia announced on Monday, March 9, that it is temporarily suspending operations at two Reno facilities due to concerns about potential coronavirus exposure.

The temporary closure affects Patagonia’s Reno service center. The company is also closing its outlet store in downtown Reno for a “pre-emptive cleaning,” said store employee Watson Meyer when reached on Monday afternoon.

The store plans to reopen on Thursday. Meyer stressed that no employees have tested positive for the virus.

The information was confirmed by Corley Kenna, Patagonia senior director of global communications and PR.

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“Starting this afternoon, March 9, 2020, we have temporarily shut down all of our operations in Reno, Nevada which includes our service center and store,” Kenna said when contacted by the Reno Gazette Journal. “No Patagonia employee has tested positive for COVID-19, but as a precaution we are thoroughly cleaning our facilities.”

Online orders might experience a delay at this time, according to the company. Online orders can be tracked via Patagonia’s help center.

Jason Hidalgo covers business and technology for the Reno Gazette Journal, and also reviews video games as part of his Technobubble features. Follow him on Twitter @jasonhidalgo. Like this content? Support local journalism with an RGJ digital subscription.