ARLINGTON, Va. — Two Green Pig Bistro employees in Arlington have tested positive for coronavirus, the restaurant confirmed on Wednesday.
A statement on the bistro's Instagram page said the two employees have been recovering since March 26. Those employees had interaction with customers who were picking up take out food. They were not involved with the preparation of the food or worked in the kitchen.
While the restaurant had been closed for dine-in options, they were open for takeout until March 28. The bistro has since been completely closed and is in the process of being sanitized and disinfected, with plans on installing new environmental air systems to better filter the air as well as more hand sanitizing stations prior to reopening.
"Our customers, guests and employees safety is of utmost importance to us and we will do everything we need to in order to provide a healthy and nourishing restaurant," a social media post from the joint read.
The bistro opened in 2012 and is located one block away from a Trader Joe's that confirmed an employee tested positive for coronavirus on April 1.
While customers should take precautions, the Food and Drug Administration said as recently as Feb. 27, "We are not aware of any reports at this time of human illnesses that suggest COVID-19 can be transmitted by food or food packaging."
Other international food and health departments echo this sentiment. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland says, "There is no evidence to suggest that COVID-19 is passed on through food."
The Harvard Medical School said that it is unlikely you could get COVID-19 from food, but they cannot rule out the possibility that it can be transmitted through food, "by an infected person who has not thoroughly washed their hands."
They said the virus would likely be killed off in cooking of hot foods, but that this may not be the case in uncooked foods like salads and sandwiches.
Nonetheless, the FDA recommends people should continue to practice good hygiene practices when handling or preparing food. This includes washing hands and surfaces often, separating raw meat from other foods, cooking to the right temperatures and refrigerating foods as soon as you can.
