An employee at Wind Creek casino in Bethlehem has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the company announced in a statement published on its website Thursday.
“Wind Creek Bethlehem has been notified that a team member, who worked on the floor with limited public interaction, has tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus),” the statement said. “The team member last worked at the property Saturday, March 14, which is when they first started exhibiting symptoms.”
The company did not name or provide any identifying information about the employee.
Wind Creek said that upon being notified of their test result, it took immediate action to inform local and state health officials and is “also in the process of informing both guests and team members who may have come into contact with the team member.”
Wind Creek Bethlehem voluntarily suspended its operations Sunday at 6 a.m., and since then the company said it’s “been aggressively deep cleaning the property following the guidelines of the CDC.”
More information about the recently-implemented cleaning procedures can be found here.
The property remains closed with a tentative reopening date of Sunday, March 29.
Wind Creek said it has committed to paying both its salaried and tipped employees during the closure.
“Our commitment to keeping our guests and team members safe is our priority during this time,” the company said. “We wish our affected team member a speedy recovery, as well as others suffering from COVID-19.”
To date there have been five confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Northampton County, including one case that proved fatal for a man from Bath earlier this week.
Lehigh County has reported one confirmed case of the virus to date.
Statewide as of Thursday there were more than 200 confirmed cases including more than 50 new cases, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which is providing daily updated totals on the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Also on Thursday, Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf ordered all “non-life-sustaining businesses” in the commonwealth to close by 8 p.m., or face possible penalties beginning Saturday.
For more information about COVID-19, visit the Department of Health website.
Casino slot machines (stock image)
