Pal's location closed after employee's positive virus test

The COVID-19 coronavirus is not fading away. It is bouncing back.

There is evidence of a second wave of infections across several sections of the nation.

Locally, the Pal’s restaurant in Norton has temporarily closed after an employee tested positive for the virus, the fast food chain confirmed Friday.

The employee was notified of the test result yesterday and is now quarantining at home, according to a press release.

“Following procedures established by the restaurant chain ahead of the pandemic, Pal’s Sudden Service, the employee telephoned the location’s store operator earlier this week to report that the employee was not feeling well,” it stated. “The employee was instructed to not report for their shift and be tested by a healthcare provider for the virus.”

“We maintain some of the most stringent safety procedures in the restaurant business,” Pal’s chief executive Thom Crosby said. “We believe that the situation is confined to only our Norton location and no other Pal’s restaurant. However, with an abundance of caution, we have now temporarily closed the Norton location. We are in the process of contacting all team members working at the Norton location and asking them to have a COVID-19 test performed on them as soon as possible. We will reopen the Norton location once all test results have been shared with those team members and those who test negative will return to work and our Norton location will reopen.”

Under procedures established in early April, Pal’s performs temperature checks and monitors all employees for signs of illness, the release noted. Also, it stated: “As an additional precaution all restaurant locations receive anti-viral treatments inside the restaurant. The Norton restaurant was treated on the day after the affected employee’s last day on the job. The Norton location has also been scheduled for an additional anti-viral treatment today.”