Changes Followed Coronavirus Closing At Danvers Market

DANVERS, MA —McKinnon's Markets & Super Butcher Shops installed plexiglass shields at cashier stations and started stocking shelves when the store was closed following a two-day shutdown last month after employees tested positive for the coronavirus.

McKinnon's closed its Danvers store for two days after the Memorial Day holiday for cleaning when some employees tested positive for the coronavirus. In a note to customers Wednesday, co-owner Ed Penta also addressed a Salem News article that fueled social media speculation by suggesting the market and Danvers health officials had cited health privacy concerns to withhold information about the coronavirus infections among its employees.

"We read comments online that wondered whether we withheld information about infected employees. This was not the case," Penta said. "We assure you that we would never put our employees or our customers at risk. Our employees have rights to privacy, as we all do, but every employee of the Danvers store has undergone testing, and we are now doing health and temperature screenings of all employees on all shifts at all of our stores."

Penta said that the store has given personal protective equipment to employees since the start of the coronavirus started. When masks and other items were in short supply, Penta's wife sewed 400 face coverings for employees.

"At no time have we lacked sufficient supplies for our employees," he said. "We also increased pay for our employees, and we have allowed any employee who felt uncomfortable to stay home without question or jeopardy of losing their job."