This Is Why Your Walmart Could Be Closed This Weekend

If you were planning on going on a quick Walmart run this weekend—either to get some groceries, buy some necessities in preparation for Hurricane Henri, or simply browse the superstore—you might pull into the parking lot to find your local store shuttered. Walmart shoppers from coast to coast have noticed their stores closing their doors until Sunday, Aug. 22 or Monday, Aug. 23, and the retail giant is now explaining why. Read on to find out what’s going on and to see if your Walmart is affected by the temporary closures.

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In its COVID-19 information guidelines online, Walmart says its stores are mostly open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., unless otherwise mandated, and they’re typically closed overnight in order to do more “enhanced cleaning and sanitizing in stores.” However, they note, “Stores and clubs may be temporarily closed from time to time as circumstances warrant for additional cleaning and an operational refresh.” And that seems to be happening more and more lately, as COVID cases also climb.

Local news outlet KXLY in Spokane, Washington says that because of the increase in COVID cases across the country, Walmart is closing stores to do more of these deep cleanings. “Several areas across the country have begun seeing a renewed increase in positive COVID-19 cases, and we want to assist health officials working against the pandemic,” Walmart communications director Lauren Willis said in a statement to the outlet. “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.”

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If you’re wondering if your store is closed due to a positive COVID case, you may never get that answer. Walmart would not say whether the stores being closed had reported incidences of COVID exposure. “We are not able to provide information about those impacted by COVID-19 for privacy reasons,” Brian Little, Walmart’s global communications director, told NBC News affiliate WITN in Greenville, North Carolina.

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The Walmart stores that are closing for deep cleanings are typically shuttered for 40 hours, from 2 p.m. one afternoon until the store opens not the next day, but the one after at 6 a.m.

The Walmart in Spokane Valley at 5025 E. Sprague Ave. closed on Friday, Aug. 20, starting at 2 p.m. and will reopen Sunday, Aug. 22, at 6 a.m., KXLY reports.

The Walmart Supercenter in Lufkin, Texas is also closed from Friday afternoon until the store reopens Sunday morning, KSFA radio station reports. The media outlet says customers suspected the closure before it was announced because “many Lufkinites were trying to schedule their weekly curbside grocery pickup online, but were told that there were no available times until Monday morning.”

Stores in North Carolina and Mississippi are also closing for the same time period: the