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APTOS IS CLOSED AFTER SEVEN EMPLOYEES TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HEALTH OFFICERS SAY IT'S THE 'FIRST CLUSTER' TO APPEAR IN THE COUNTY ACTION NEWS REPORTER PHIL GOMEZ HAS MORE ON HOW THE MARKET IS HANDLING THE OUTBREAK. "IT'S BEEN JUST A FEW DAYS SINCE NEWS BROKE THAT AN EMPLOYEE TESTED POSTIVE FOR COVID-19. NOW ADDITIONAL 6 EMPLOYEES HAVE ALSO TESTED POSITIVE AND THE STORE IS NOW CLOSED AGAIN "AN EXPOSURE NOTICE WAS SENT TO NEW LEAF APTOS EMPLOYEES " THE NEW LEAF COMMUNITY MARKET IN APTOS CLOSED AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY. THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER SAID THAT CUSTOMERS ARE AT A VERY LOW RISK FOR BEING EXPOSED TO COVID-19 "IN GENERAL A PERSON WOULD NEED TO BE WITHIN 6 FEET OF AN UNMASKED PERSON OR A PERSON WITHOUT FACE COVERING FOR SEVERAL MINUTES ORE VEN LONGER " NEW LEAF RELEASED A STATEMENT "..WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK SWIFTLY TO PROVIDE TESTING FOR ALL STORE STAFF..." THE COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER ACKNOWLEDGED THAT DEMAND IS ONE THE COUNTY CAN'T MEET BECAUSE THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TESTING AVAILABLE "TESTING IS CERTAINLY A BIG ISSUE. IT HAS BEEN ALL ALONG AS YOU KNOW. WE ARE NOT MEETING PUBLIC DEMAND AT ALL. THERE'S A BIG DEMAND FROM THE PUBLIC AND WE'RE NOT ABLE TOO MEET THAT. AT A NEWS BRIEFING THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER TOLD REPORTERS, GROCE STORE WORKERS ARE CONSIDERED 'CRITICAL INFRASTURE WORKERS' "EVERY INDICATION IS THAT, "NEW LEAF" WAS FOLLOWING ALL APPROPRIATE COVID-19 PREVENTION PROTOCOLS. THEY'VE BEEN VERY FORTH COMING WITH INFORMATION" NEW LEAF MARKET SAYS THEY ACTED QUICKLY "...TO IDENTIFY STAFF WHO MAY HAVE BEEN IN PROLONGED CLOSE CONTACT WITH AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS AND HAVE REQUIRED THEM TO STAY HOME AND MONITOR THEIR SYMPTOMS ..." THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT SAID, IT' DOING CONTACT INVESTIGATIONS FOR ANYONE INVOLVED "THE STORE IS CLOSED WHILE THEY DISNTFECT IT. IT'S UNCLEAR WHEN IT WILL REOPEN. IN APTOS, PHIL GOMEZ, KSBW ACTION NEWS 8 ## UC SANTA CRUZ RESEAR

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The New Leaf Community Markets in Aptos is closed after seven employees tested positive for COVID-19. Santa Cruz County Health Officers said it's the first cluster to appear in the county.It's been just a few days since news broke that an employee tested positive for COVID-19. The New Leaf Community Market in Aptos closed again Wednesday. Now an additional six employees have also tested positive and the store is closed again. "An exposure notice was sent to New Leaf Aptos employees," said Dr. Gail Newel, Santa Cruz County Health Officer. Dr. Newel said that customers are at very low risk of being exposed to COVID-19"In general a person would need to be within six feet of an unmasked person or a person without face covering for several minutes or even longer "New Leaf released a statement: "... we are continuing to work swiftly to provide testing for all store staff..."Dr. Newell acknowledged that demand for testing is one the county can't meet because there are not enough testing kits for COVID-19 available"Testing is certainly a big issue. It has been all along as you know. We are not meeting public demand at all. There's a big demand from the public and we're not able to meet that," said Newell.At a news briefing the Santa Cruz County Health Officer told reporters, grocery store workers are considered "critical infrastructure workers.""Every indication is that New Leaf was following all appropriate COVID-19 prevention protocols. They've been very forthcoming with information," said Newell.New Leaf Community Markets says they acted quickly "to identify staff who may have been in prolonged close contact with affected individuals and have required them to stay home and monitor their symptoms..."The Health Department said it's doing contact investigations for anyone involved.The store is closed while they disinfect. It's unclear when it will reopen. New Leaf said, "We are committed to only reopening once store staff have been tested and cleared."