Coronavirus News: Walmart Makes More Store Changes After Two Workers Die From COVID-19

Two workers from a Chicago area Walmart (WMT) have reportedly died from the coronavirus.

The two employees both worked at the same store in Evergreen Park, Illinois, and had been out of work at the location for at least a week, USA Today reported. It was unclear at the time of writing how the workers contracted COVID-19 and whether the virus was contracted on the job.

The 51 and 48-year-old victims reportedly had underlying health conditions.

"We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of two associates at our Evergreen Park store, and we are mourning along with their families," Walmart told the news outlet in a statement.

The Walmart store had passed a third-party safety inspection, an environmental compliance test, and a health department inspection within the past week, USA Today said.

The news of the deaths come as Walmart made significant changes to its store operations. Beyond limiting its hours, on Saturday, Walmart began limiting the number of shoppers in its stores at any one time – a measure designed to promote social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. Walmart now allows only five customers to 1,000 square feet, which accounts for about 20% of a store’s capacity.

The company is also implementing one-way shopping down its aisles and has placed signage across its stores to promote social distancing. Walmart said customers will also be directed out a separate exit door to lessen the number of people passing each through entrances.

"While many of our customers have been following the advice of the medical community regarding social distancing and safety, we have been concerned to still see some behaviors in our stores that put undue risk on our people,” Walmart said in a statement.

"We want to encourage customers to bring the fewest number of people per family necessary to shop, allow for space with other customers while shopping, and practice social distancing while waiting in lines. We’re also seeing states and municipalities set varying policies regarding crowd control – which has created some confusion regarding shopping."

Shares of Walmart stock were up 2.08% as of 10:04 a.m. EDT on Monday.