Two employees from the Kroger chain are confirmed dead from COVID-19. By Nicole Charky, Patch.com CULVER CITY, CA — A Ralphs employee in Culver City and another in Sherman Oaks were hospitalized and died from COVID-19 earlier this month, union officials confirmed Tuesday.
The union confirmed the two deaths with Patch. The employees were not identified.
Grocery workers are at high risk and a growing number have been exposed to the coronavirus.
There have been at least 72 reported worker deaths and more than 5,000 workers impacted by the pandemic, according to a United Food and Commercial Workers Union report released Monday.
Patch reached out to Kroger both via email and phone for more information. Kroger operates Southland grocery chains such as Ralphs and Food 4 Less. "The families of the workers from the Ralphs in Sherman Oaks and Culver City are not interested in talking to the public," media representative Damaris Lara told Patch.
Earlier this month an employee at a Pasadena Whole Foods died from COVID-19, the company confirmed.
There are nearly 40,000 grocery stores in the U.S. still operating throughout the pandemic as essential businesses under social distancing guidelines, however, grocery stores are not required to release information about the number of coronavirus cases or deaths, according to The Washington Post.
Retailers such as grocery stores have begun to phase out hazard pay for workers who were earning increased pay throughout the coronavirus. Kroger, Amazon and Rite Aid all made the recent move to end the hazard pay, but grocery worker union members argue workers are still facing health risks.
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