Fort Worth restaurant community mourns death of El Paseo worker who had coronavirus
An employee of El Paseo Mexican Restaurant who tested positive for coronavirus last month has died, according to the Fort Worth restaurant’s posts on social media.
The man died Saturday just days after he reported being ill.
He also had underlying health conditions and double pneumonia, according to a Saturday post on the restaurant’s Facebook.
As of Sunday, 11 Tarrant County residents have died who tested poitive for COVID-19 and there were 418 total infections in the county.
Restaurant officials did not identify the worker.
“He was a part of our El Paseo family for over 25 years,” according to the Facebook post. “He was a good man with a kind heart. We could always count on him to bring a smile to our faces when we arrived at work.”
The man was described as a loyal, hardworking and devoted employee.
The Sansom Park restaurant and two other locations are scheduled to reopen Tuesday for take-out. The restaurants had been temporarily closed as precautionary measures to deep clean and sanitize all surfaces and equipment of the restaurants. The other restaurants are in Azle and Mineral Wells.
No other employees have reported any signs or symptoms of the virus.
The announcement to temporarily close the restaurants was made March 31 on the restaurant’s Facebook page after the worker was told his test was positive.
“We are taking precautionary steps to make sure everyone is safe from the virus by temporarily closing all of our locations until April 7th,” according to the restaurant’s post. “That would make it a full two weeks of no one showing symptoms at the CDC’s recommendations.”
Before the March 31 announcement, El Paseo restaurants had provided curbside pickup or delivery service for patrons. On Tuesday, the restaurants are scheduled to begin those services again.
Restaurant officials said the employee called in sick with a fever and sore throat on March 24. The employee visited a doctor and was told he had a sore throat, but restaurant officials said they did not allow him to come back to work for the safety of everyone.
On March 28, the employee was diagnosed with double pneumonia and doctors ran a test for COVID-19. The worker and restaurant officials received word of the positive results on March 31.
The worker was last at the restaurant on March 21, and restaurant officials said no other employees n the past 10 days had exhibited signs of the coronavirus.
The restaurant has established a GoFundMe account to help the family of the worker. As of Monday, residents had raised $2,060 with a goal of $5,000.
“We will decide on a date to donate a portion of our sales to his wife and two daughters to help them during this difficult time,” according to the Facebook post. “We thank you for your continued support and prayers. We cannot wait to see our customers.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 9:39 AM.
