NEW BEDFORD — Three employees at a Walgreens store in the city have confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to a statement from Walgreens spokesperson Alexandra Brown.

The statement says Walgreens was notified of two confirmed cases at one of their New Bedford stores and that the workers have not been in the store since March 13.

On March 25, Walgreens was informed that another employee was being evaluated for COVID-19, according to Brown, and since then the case has been confirmed.

That employee hasn’t been in the store since March 25.

The statement does not specify which Walgreens in New Bedford is impacted, but The Standard-Times reached out to Walgreens to acknowledge there were confirmed cases at their store at 1103 Kempton St. and they sent their statement in response. The store is located not far from the Route 140 intersection.

Additionally, the wife of an employee at the Kempton Street store, who wished to remain anonymous out of fear her husband would lose his job, said her husband had been notified of three confirmed cases at the store where he worked.

She said he was not told that there were potential cases of COVID-19 at the store until after the tests came back positive, which took five days.

“We were furious,” she said, “Furious that a manager didn’t reach out to all of the employees right away when they found out that these employees needed to be tested. We have high risk people living in our household and Walgreens knows that.”

In its statement, Walgreens said it acted in accordance with its established protocols and Center for Disease Control guidance and took immediate action to temporarily close the store for cleaning in order to disinfect the premises. The company also said it promptly notified and followed health department guidance and contacted impacted individuals who may be at risk and who are self-quarantined.

The store reopened on March 29, according to Walgreens.

The company did not specify what day the store closed for cleaning in its statement, but according to the source the store closed for cleaning on March 28.

The source said they know at least the manager of the Walgreens and some pharmacy staff were put on quarantine, but a pharmacy technician who was around all three of the employees who tested positive was still working as of Wednesday.

The source said in the last few days her husband has started to feel ill himself.

Since then both she and her husband have been tested for COVID-19 and they will get the results in a few days. Her husband has stayed out of work since he felt ill, but was told by Walgreens that he would only be paid for his time out of work if he tested positive.

Overall, she said, Walgreens didn’t handle the situation well.

“I think the entire staff should have been put on a 14 day-quarantine,” she said, maintaining they should have brought in a temporary staff to cover their shifts.

Walgreens closed their statement by saying, “Customers with questions can contact the health department to learn more.”