East El Paso Walmart is at least 6th store closed for deep cleaning over virus concerns
EL PASO, Texas -- An eastside Walmart on Thursday afternoon became the latest of the retail giant's El Paso stores to be abruptly closed for deep cleaning because of concerns about the surge of Covid-19 in the Borderland.
A Walmart spokesperson said the store at 1850 N. Zaragoza Road was shut down Thursday afternoon and would remain closed through Saturday morning.
This is at least the sixth Walmart store to be temporarily closed for disinfection over the past two weeks.
Other locations undergoing temporary cleaning closures have included the Cielo Vista Walmart store, the Walmart grocery store in Socorro, the west El Paso Sam’s Club, the Walmart store at 5631 Dyer in northeast El Paso, and the Walmart supercenter at 9441 Alameda in the Lower Valley.
Walmart officials have called the closures part of a “company-initiated program” to sanitize stores, but they have repeatedly declined to discuss whether case outbreaks have occurred at these stores.
City health leaders said they haven't ordered any of the store shutdowns, but Mayor Dee Margo said yet again at a news conference on Thursday that so-called "big box" retail stores are among the top locations experiencing community spread of virus infections.
