Wildhorse Casino reopens after cleaning

PENDLETON, Ore. — Wildhorse Resort and Casino reopened at about noon Wednesday, 48 hours after it closed for deep cleaning after an employee tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The casino, movie theater, hotel, conference center, restaurants and children’s entertainment center at the resort near Pendleton all received a deep cleaning before public use resumed.

The reopening was allowed after officials with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, which owns the casino, inspected the resort and issued a letter of certification.

On Monday, within three hours of notification that an employee had an apparent case of COVID-19, all guests and employees had left the buildings and deep cleaning and sanitation crews started work at all locations, casino officials said.

The casino already had been swabbing surfaces the public was likely to touch with increased frequency, because of the spread of the virus in the Northwest.

The employee who tested positive for COVID-19 is a swing shift worker in an area of the casino closed to the public and had no reason to interact with the public, the casino said. The employee was not a food service worker.

Other Wildhorse employees fall into a category the Centers for Disease Control consider at low risk for transmission exposure, officials said.

The employee, who was being treated at a Walla Walla hospital over the weekend, is recovering, Umatilla County Public Health said.

Three close contacts of the employee also were being tested for coronavirus, with samples sent to a Washington state laboratory, it said.