Walmart will now perform temperature checks on its employees in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, company officials announced Tuesday.
Employees will have their temperature tested when they arrive at work. Any employee with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher will be paid for coming to work and sent home. They will be advised to seek medical treatment, if necessary. Those employees will not be able to return to work until they are fever-free for at least three days.
“As the covid-19 situation has evolved, we’ve decided to begin taking the temperatures of our associates as they report to work in stores, clubs and facilities, as well as asking them some basic health screening questions,” officials said in a statement. “We are in the process of sending infrared thermometers to all locations, which could take up to three weeks.”
The company will provide masks and gloves for employees who want to wear them. The masks, which should arrive in 1 to 2 weeks, will not be N95 masks, officials said.
“We encourage anyone who would like to wear a mask or gloves at work to ask their supervisor for them, while keeping in mind that it is still possible to spread germs while wearing them,” officials said.
The new changes come subsequent of other operational changes that already have been made to the stores, such as closing for overnight cleaning and installing sneeze guards at checkouts and pharmacies. The company has implemented a covid-19 emergency leave policy, which ensures the protection of an employee’s job if they have covid-19 related symptoms, concerns, illness or are quarantined.
