Several Starbucks in downtown Oakland and San Francisco are temporarily closed due to a lack of staffing after many employees recently tested positive or showed symptoms for COVID-19, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The paper reported that eight locations in both cities have temporarily shuttered, which includes the following: San Francisco's locations at 1 Market Plaza, 333 Market St., 555 California St., 580 California St. and 120 4th St. and Oakland's locations at 1200 Clay St., 200 Broadway and 3013 Broadway.
Starbucks spokeswoman Elizabeth Johnson told KCBS Radio that employees who test positive, were exposed to COVID-19, or experience virus symptoms are all treated the same and forced to isolate for a time dependent on each localities health guidelines. Johnson said temporary store closures or reduced hours occur to keep employees from being overworked at stores which are short staffed, as the company prioritizes "their health and well-being" in its decision making.
"As we have since the beginning of the pandemic, local leaders can, and do scale operations based on partner availability and local COVID-19 factors," she explained.
Johnson said stores follow federal and local health guidelines. In both San Francisco and Alameda County, people who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for at least five days since their symptoms started.
Johnson added that the Oakland and San Francisco store closures "in general" were due to COVID-19 cases among employees, however she did not want to make a broad statement about every store.
"These decisions are made on a store-by-store and market-by-market basis, and our customers can check the Starbucks Locator on our website or app for their store's current hours of operation," she said.
Johnson declined comment when asked whether the company is currently experiencing one of its highest amounts of temporary store closures due to COVID.
Starbucks on Tuesday announced that it was raising its prices this year due to inflation and rising labor costs. The company said it had increased COVID-19 pay for employees, including paid time off for those who contracted the virus or need to receive the vaccine.
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