An “extremely unusual” situation played out at a Calvert County, Maryland 7-Eleven over the past week, where one employee’s falsified positive test for the novel coronavirus motivated a co-worker to test themselves and later find out they actually have the virus.
That’s according to an update provided by the Calvert County Department of Health.
The strange turn of events began March 21 when the health department said an employee at the Hallowing Point Road 7-Eleven in Prince Frederick was tested for COVID-19.
However, while the employee was still waiting for their results — which could take up to 10 days — the person “falsified a positive result,” the health department said, which prompted the store to temporarily close and led to a “swirl of social media conjecture.”
The health department said before it found out that the first employee’s test result was falsified, a different employee decided to get tested by a family doctor. Their test was processed by a different lab with a faster turnaround time, and that person learned on Wednesday night they actually did have a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
- Sign up for news alerts from WTOP
- Closings and delays
- Traffic and transit changes in DC, Md. and Va. during coronavirus response
- Coronavirus test results in DC, Maryland and Virginia
- Coronavirus FAQ: What you need to know
The original employee is still awaiting the results of their test, and the health department said there’s a chance that they could have COVID-19, too.
“Given the very unexpected turn of events,” the store on Hallowing Point Road and another Prince Frederick-based 7-Eleven, which are owned by the same person, have shut down for the next two weeks, the health department said.
The health department said that the potential for any customers to contract the disease is low, but it is advising customers who entered the store between March 12 – 25 and that may develop any respiratory symptoms or fevers to contact their health care provider.
A total of seven Calvert County residents have tested positive for the coronavirus. Overall, Maryland has reported 580 cases statewide.
