The employee at the store on North Perkins last worked March 9th.

MEMPHIS, Tenn — Lowe’s Home Improvement says an associate at a Memphis store has been confirmed to have COVID-19.

In a statement, the company said the employee worked at the store at 585 North Perkins Road. They say the employee last worked March 9th.

They say the store remains open and has been extensively cleaned.

The following is the statement from Lowe’s sent to Local 24 News.

“The well-being of our associates and customers is Lowe’s priority, and we continue to work with the CDC and state health department on the confirmed COVID-19 case of a Lowe’s associate at our Memphis store at 585 North Perkins Road. The associate has been quarantined and is receiving care. This associate last worked on March 9, and at the encouragement of local officials, the store remains open. The store has been extensively cleaned per CDC guidelines, and in an abundance of caution, associates who had worked closely with this individual over a period of time have been put on a paid leave.”

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Coronavirus in Context:

The majority of people who have coronavirus will get better without any long-term effects, according to an Oregon doctor. About 80% of cases tend to be mild. In these cases, symptoms diminish over five to seven days, although people are still capable of transmitting the disease. But there are many people with a higher risk of having a more severe disease if they are diagnosed with coronavirus, including those with heart disease, diabetes, asthma and other vascular disease problems.

Also, most children who get it have mild symptoms.

WHO officials said March 9 that of about 80,000 people who have been sickened by COVID-19 in China, more than 70% have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

Patients are typically released when they test negative twice for the virus within 24 hours, meaning they’re no longer carrying the virus, although some countries may be using a slightly different definition, that may include when people have no more respiratory symptoms or a clear CT scan.

The World Health Organization said it could take considerably longer for people to be “recovered,” depending on the severity of disease.

Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization's emergencies chief, said it can take up to six weeks for people to fully recover from COVID-19 infections, which could include pneumonia and other respiratory problems in serious cases. He said the numbers of reported patients have not always been systematically provided to World Health Organization although the U.N. health agency is asking every country with cases for further information.

To put the coronavirus numbers in context, millions of Americans get the flu every single year and there are thousands of flu deaths annually.