Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has begun temporarily closing stores for extensive sanitizing as Omicron variant coronavirus cases surge throughout the United States.
Walmart's efforts to combat the coronavirus and keep its stores open have led to a litany of advancements at the company. From the company's extensive efforts to expand delivery services to spreading Black Friday deals across multiple days to prevent overcrowding, the retailer has done all it could to keep stores open.
The Omicron variant's extremely high transmissibility compared to the Delta variant seems to have been the tipping point for Walmart, as well as many other retailers. The busy holiday travel season only worsened the spread of Omicron, putting further pressure on retailers as consumers flocked to stores for last-minute gifts.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's controversial decision to shorten the recommended isolation period from 10 days to 5 may have had a role in the recent surge as well, with the agency well aware of the forthcoming holiday infection spike.
As cases surge in various regions of the country, Walmart has closed affected stores for deep cleaning and sanitizing. Recent stores include a Neighborhood Market in Richardson, Texas, which closed at 2 p.m. on Friday, and two Duluth, Georgia locations that closed on Thursday. Multiple stores throughout the Northeast, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, were also reported to have closed recently.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we're taking additional steps to protect the health and safety of our customers and associates as we continue serving the community," a Duluth Walmart wrote in a Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) post.
According to Reuters, about 60 Walmart locations were closed throughout December for sanitization as well. Meanwhile, CVS (NYSE: CVS) reported that it had only closed a few locations throughout the pandemic. Fellow retailer Target (NYSE: TGT) reported that it had not been forced to close any stores in December.