This article was updated Saturday at 6:13pm:
The Kankakee McDonald’s restaurant located on 5th Ave, owned by JJC Family Restaurants in Joliet has come under fire in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Loyal customers first became concerned after not seeing a regular employee at the location.
Owner John Carnagio issued a statement about those concerns following questioning on the location this week Friday through McDonald’s Field Public Relations Director, Anne Christensen.
“When we were notified of the confirmed case, we closed the restaurant to conduct a thorough deep-cleaning and sanitization procedure. Additionally, we’ve contacted local public health authorities, as well as identified and reached out to any restaurant staff who had been in close contact with the employee who contracted the virus.” Carnagio said in a written statement. “These employees have been asked to self-quarantine at home for 14 days to ensure they remain healthy before returning to work. We have been in contact with the employees and are providing support during this time.”
The case was confirmed last Saturday, May 9th. Carnagio added following the case, Health Department officials were contacted and contract tracing was performed.
McDonald’s reopened the following morning.
“We have been conducting wellness checks and temperature checks before each shift to ensure our employees are healthy and feeling their best,” Carnagio said. Additionally, we are providing gloves and masks to our employees and installed protective barriers, in addition to adhering to social distancing guidelines and enhanced hygiene procedures. Our people are the heart and soul of the McDonald’s family and we’re keeping this employees in our thoughts and prayers during this time.”
Before the statement, several employees at the location had reported the store did not close to disinfect before the announcement. Country Herald followed up for specific dates of the closure on 5th Avenue late Friday night, the McDonald’s Field Public Relations Director replied with that information late Saturday afternoon.
As of Friday, Kankakee County had over 600 active COVID-19 cases. No further updated information will be given by the Health Department until Monday afternoon. The County is coming off it’s worst week to date, announcing 222 new cases of the virus this week.
