NEW ORLEANS — Walmart is closing two more stores in the Greater New Orleans area so that crews can clean and sanitize the building, bringing the total number of stores closing over the holiday weekend to four.
The company announced on Friday that it will close its Chalmette and (W. Judge Perez Dr.) and Harahan (Jefferson Highway) stores at 2 p.m. to “thoroughly clean and sanitize the building.”
The stores will reopen at 6 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 2.
Walmart previously announced earlier this week that it has closed stores in New Orleans (Tchoupitoulas Street) and Kenner (W. Esplanade Ave.) for cleaning. The Kenner store was set to reopen on Dec. 31, and the New Orleans location will reopen on New Years Day.
The closures come amid drastically rising COVID-19 cases across Louisiana. The state’s health department said that the highly contagious COVID-19 Omicron variant is surging across the state, causing thousands of new cases and the number of hospitalizations in the state to triple in two weeks.
“Everything we’re doing is for the well-being of our associates and the thousands of customers we serve daily, and in consideration of guidance by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and health experts,” a statement from Walmart said. “Given the rise in positive cases, we will follow CDC guidance, which includes fully vaccinated people wearing masks in public indoor settings in counties with substantial or high transmission.”
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