SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Last week we reported that Moe's Original Barbeque in South Portland had an employee test positive for COVID-19. The restaurant immediately closed for cleaning, but now is reopened.
"We closed that day we found out," Moe's manager Jeremy LaRochelle said.
"You know we just went full force on the cleaning thing," another restaurant manager, Chris Jandreau added.
The employee who tested positive is a part-time cleaning employee who works in the morning before the restaurant opens.
"He's never here during lunch or dinner," LaRochelle said.
Both LaRochelle and Jandreau told NEWS CENTER Maine that they always have employees wearing masks and gloves while preparing food so that hasn't changed because of COVID-19.
Now, all employees are practicing social distancing. The managers said the kitchen is large enough that with the smaller staff it's easy to do.
After the news of the positive test, every employee at Moe's was tested for COVID-19.
This is the standard operating procedure according to the Maine C-D-C.
Officials there tell NEWS CENTER Maine, "If a workplace outbreak is confirmed, Maine CDC works with the business to offer COVID-19 testing to all affected individuals."
Once all other Moe's employees tested negative and it had been 14 days since the positive employee has last been at work, the restaurant was able to re-open.
Moe's is only offering curbside or outdoor seating, all its services are contactless.
"So we're all just in this weird ground because we don't want to get it.. we don't want our customers to get it," Jandreau said.
He added that COVID-19 has been a strain on business, like it has been for many businesses. Moe's does a lot of catering and many of the events it typically caters have been canceled.
As for the employee who did test positive for COVID-19, he has recovered from the virus and is doing well.