Walmart customers like Christina Willis were caught off-guard on Tuesday when the store on Broadway in Chula Vista temporarily closed its doors on Dec 29 for deep cleaning.
“It does surprise me, but I’m glad they're cleaning if it’s for COVID,” Willis said.
Crystal Sevilla told NBC7 a cashier told her, ”We’re closing for two days.”
The Walmart location joins a growing number of the chain's stores in San Diego County that are closing for a couple of days to disinfect after the Christmas rush.
Sevilla said she had been in the store right before the holiday and noted “It was packed. it was packed. You would think they would have, like, less people.”
As of Wednesday, here's what locations have been temporarily closed for cleaning:
- San Diego Supercenter store located at 710 Dennery Rd. will be closed Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. until Friday, Jan 1 at 7 a.m.
- Chula Vista Supercenter store located at 75 North Broadway will be closed Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. until Friday, Jan 1 at 7 a.m.
- Chula Vista Supercenter store at 1150 Broadway will be closed Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. until Thursday, Dec. 31 at 7 a.m.
- Chula Vista Supercenter store at 875 E. H St. will be closed Sunday, Dec. 27 at 2 p.m. until Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 7 a.m.
- National City Supercenter store at 1200 Highland Ave. will be closed from Sunday, Dec. 27 at 2 p.m. until Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 7 a.m.
A representative from the Walmart corporation told NBC 7 that the National City location was also closing on Tuesday. Tuesday's closures came on the same day that that Supercenter store on Eastlake Parkway in Chula Vista reopened. It was shut down since Sunday for cleaning.
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Employees at the Chula Vista store told NBC7 that the store closed without notice. Employees at the Broadway site said they were notified verbally ahead of time.
According to San Diego County records obtained by KPBS, the Supercenter Walmart in Chula Vista reported a COVID-19 outbreak last month. The county, however, told NBC7 that it had no additional information on outbreaks at that location.
Lourdes Diaz told NBC7 that, as a customer, she would have appreciated some notice.
”It’s for the good of everyone, for the safety of the public, but they should just be forthcoming and tell us why they’re doing it,” Diaz said.
Walmart told NBC 7 that the closures are part of a company-initiated program to allow cleaning crews to clean and sanitize the buildings and allow employees time to restock shelves.
In a statement sent to NBC7, a Walmart representative said, in part: "Everything we're doing is for the well-being of our associates and customers, and in consideration of guidance by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and health experts,” adding. “These protocols are in addition to the extensive measures we've put in place during the pandemic to help protect our associates and customers.”
The Broadway Walmart in Chula Vista is scheduled to reopen at 7 a.m. on Dec. 31.
