In-N-Out Burger, the two newly opened restaurants in Colorado, each have active outbreaks of COVID-19, 80 staff members testing positive for the virus between the two locations, according to state data.
The popular fast food chain debuted in the state on November 20 with locations in Aurora and Colorado Springs; each now has coronavirus outbreaks among employees, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment.
State health officials consider an outbreak to be two or more cases related to the same location or event. Outbreaks are thought to be active until four weeks have elapsed, with no new cases.
The outbreak at the Aurora location was declared on December 17, with 20 staff members confirming that they tested positive for the virus, and another 16 employees were included in probable cases of COVID-19.
The outbreak of the Colorado Springs location was confirmed by the state on December 6. There were 60 positive cases of employees on the El Paso County website, with nine other suspected cases among staff members.
The state did not link any client to any outbreak.
Both restaurants remain open, and state health officials generally do not need to close restaurants or other outlets with outbreaks.
Denny Warnick, vice president of In-N-Out operations, acknowledged “the number of Colorado associates who tested positive for COVID-19” in a statement, adding: “Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of customers and associates. “
All employees who gave positive results and those who had close contact with them “were excluded from the workplace,” Warinck said.
“We continue to work closely with our public health agencies and have confirmed the appropriate measures to protect our communities,” he said. “These steps include: limiting staff to the minimum number needed to serve our customers, using staff ‘cohorts’ to limit possible exposure, and limiting access in the dining room to dining orders only while ensuring adequate physical distance.”
Since a lot of fanfare opened in Colorado last month, every location has known long lines. This mania persisted; Saturday’s driving line in Aurora was still more than three hours away. None of the locations in the Colorado fast food chain have active indoor dining due to state COVID-19 regulations.
Currently, there are several active outbreaks at other fast food establishments in Colorado. Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s and Wendy’s each have outbreaks at one or two locations – each with less than 10 employee cases – and no customer infections have been linked to any restaurants, according to state data.
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