PORTLAND, Ore. — Plenty of people were shopping at the Eastport Plaza Walmart Wednesday night.
"We just go here to pick up a few prescriptions that are refilled," said Michael Mitchell.
Mitchell and his wife were surprised to find out the Walmart just reopened earlier in the day. It had been closed since Monday for a deep cleaning in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak.
"I feel upset because we didn't know anything about it," said Mitchell. "I don't think I'll go back in the store right now. I'll probably reroute to somewhere else."
KGW has learned 10 cases are linked to the Walmart. Health officials will not say how many of those are employees, only that customers do not have too much to worry about.
"If the retail establishment and customers there are following the recommended guidelines around face coverings, distancing and cleaning, generally, you wouldn't be at risk in the way you'd need to quarantine or get tested just because you were in a place you know there was an outbreak," said Lisa Ferguson of the Multnomah County Health Department.
Ferguson goes on to say Walmart customers will not be directly notified because case investigators only reach out to people who are within six feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes.
KGW found a video on the Walmart website that shows company President and CEO John Furner detailing what the company was doing to keep both shoppers and employees safe. Temperature checks for employees and signage encouraging social distancing are among the safety precautions.
"When you get in line you'll notice plexiglass shields that separate cashiers from customers for their protection," Furner said in the video.
According to data released by the Oregon Health Authority, the outbreak at the Eastport Plaza Walmart is one of more than a hundred active outbreaks at workplaces across Oregon. About a half dozen of those are at big stores like Walmart.
"We know right now there is community spread of COVID," said Ferguson. "We know we have high case numbers in our community."
The Eastport Plaza Walmart is proof of that. Michael Mitchell and his wife decided to go in and shop, albeit cautiously.
"We're going to do it," he said. "The wife says, 'Do it,' and of course I'll listen to the wife. We'll do it."