Two Chevys employees tested positive for COVID-19. The riverside restaurant never closed

Chevys Fresh Mex kept its restaurant on the Sacramento River open even after two employees tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-June, a company spokesperson confirmed to The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday.

The employees told their managers they were worried they might have contracted the virus at another business off work hours, and those fears were confirmed with positive tests after they stayed home for a few days. Chevys has kept the employees on paid sick leave for the last two weeks and they won’t return until cleared by a physician, according to a company statement.

“Two weeks ago, Chevys had two employees who reported risk of COVID-19 exposure from an outside business; they were asked to stay home until they were tested,” Chevys wrote in a statement to The Bee. “Out of an abundance of caution, even before test results, Chevys decided to proactively sanitize the restaurant to the highest (Centers for Disease Control) standard. The employees’ tests were positive, and they have been at home on extended paid sick leave for the last two weeks. The affected employees will not return to work until cleared by a physician.”

The restaurant at 1369 Garden Highway, also known as Chevys On The River, then underwent an “intensive cleaning” with an EPA and CDC-recommended disinfectant during off hours, according to the statement. But it did not temporarily close, unlike several other area restaurants where employees have tested positive.

Instead, Chevys has continued existing safety practices such as checking staff’s temperature upon arrival each day, requiring them to wear masks, socially distancing customers and employees and regularly sanitizing all surfaces, according to the statement. More safety protocols are listed on Chevy’s website.

Chevys joins a growing list of Sacramento County restaurants where employees or customers have tested positive for COVID-19, including The Zebra Club, Out Of Bounds Kitchen & Biergarten and Paesanos. The Cali-Mex chain headquartered in Orange County reopened its area restaurants for dine-in service on June 5.

Sacramento County forced all bars to close Monday after Gov. Gavin Newsom recommended doing so the day before. Restaurants can continue to serve sit-down customers drinks so long as food is concurrently purchased.

Nearly 6,000 Californians and more than 127,000 Americans have died of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Case numbers and hospitalizations have soared throughout Sacramento County and the rest of the state over the last two weeks.

Chevys locations in Roseville and Elk Grove remain open.

This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 11:16 AM.