An undisclosed number of employees at the Greenwood Country Club have tested positive for COVID-19, while a church-affiliated preschool in the city is shutting its doors for two weeks after one of its employees contracted the virus.
The developments are the latest evidence of the continuing struggles businesses and institutions in Leflore County are facing dealing with the new coronavirus.
In an email to the country club’s members Wednesday, General Manager Brooke Valente said the club had all of its employees tested for the virus “out of an abundance of caution.” An unspecified number of them, according to the email, tested positive.
“All of the positive staff members have been sent home to recover, and we are cleaning constantly to help ensure the safety of our members and staff,” Valente said in the email. “Please keep these staff members in your thoughts and prayers as they face the uncertainty of this virus. The staff members will be under the advisement of their doctors and will return once they are cleared.”
Valente said the club will operate in the meantime with a skeleton crew. It will also suspend again its buffet-style service, continue to sanitize and follow other guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The country club was potentially the locus earlier this month of a COVID-19 outbreak after hosting a wedding reception. Several people who attended the event later reported testing positive for the virus.
Valente said Wednesday, however, that the size of the gathering was “way below” the 50% capacity limit that was put in place by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves’ order limiting the crowd size in reception halls statewide.
An employee at the preschool at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity has tested positive for the coronavirus. The preschool will be closed for two weeks.
Also on Wednesday, Nativity Day School, which is operated by the Episcopal Church of the Nativity, notified parents to pick up their children as soon as possible after the preschool learned that an employee had tested positive for the virus.
The email, sent by Director Landi Mohamed, said the school, which serves children from 10 weeks through 3 years old, would stay closed until Aug. 6.
“We apologize for all inconveniences that this causes for our families, but we must do what is safest for everyone involved and adhere to CDC guidelines,” Mohamed said.
• Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. Twitter: @AdamBakst_GWCW
