Coronavirus In MN: Renewal By Andersen Temporarily Closes Cottage Grove Plant After 2 Workers Test Positive For COVID-19
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Renewal by Andersen's Cottage Grove plant is temporarily closing after two employees tested positive for COVID-19.
A company spokesperson tells WCCO the employees reported having symptoms last week, and have been recovering at home ever since.
A third-party company will come in to sanitize the building, and they expect to reopen on Monday, May 10.
The spokesperson says contact tracing has shown the exposure to other employees was likely minimal, which weathered their decision to reopen next week.
Renewal by Andersen says the plant closure does not impact retail operations in Roseville. The company also says they've taken extra steps to keep employees and customers safe by offering virtual and no-contact consultations with homeowners.
Here is the company's full statement:
The health and safety of each of our employees is our top priority. After learning today that two of our manufacturing employees in Cottage Grove have tested positive for COVID-19, we have temporarily paused operations at our Renewal by Andersen plant in Cottage Grove to enable a third-party cleaning company to thoroughly sanitize the entire plant. The two individuals with the virus have not been at work since last week, when they first reported symptoms, and we wish them a smooth recovery.
We have a company-wide COVID-19 exposure response protocol in place following OSHA, CDC and Minnesota Department of Health guidance for workplaces, which includes procedures to clean and disinfect locations where a possible exposure has occurred and conduct contact tracing to identify others who may have been exposed. We are following this protocol and have not identified a broader risk exposure in the plant. We expect to resume normal operations on Monday, May 10.
Since early March, our company has adapted our operations in response to COVID-19 to help protect the health of our employees and customers, to do our part to help slow the spread of the virus and to maintain business continuity. We are very proud of the way our team has incorporated new measures to ensure that we continue to operate safely during the pandemic and protect the health of every employee.
These confirmed cases do not affect our separate Renewal by Andersen retail operations in Roseville. We have made adjustments to our homeowner experience in response to the pandemic, including offering virtual and no-contact consultations, to continue to serve homeowners in the safest possible way. When we are invited into homes for sales, installation or service, we follow guidance for businesses from OSHA, the CDC and Minnesota Department of Health, including tailored health precaution practices for one-on-one interactions, including practicing social distancing, daily wellness checks for teammates, washing/sanitizing hands frequently, sanitizing equipment and vehicles, wearing cloth face coverings and gloves, limiting the crew size and number of installers in a home, minimizing the amount of in-home work time and keeping work areas separate from the rest of the home with plastic sheeting when appropriate.
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