Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) reopened its Darnestown Liquor and Wine store at noon today, Monday, July 27. The store, located at 12155 Darnestown Road in Gaithersburg, was closed for three weeks after several employees tested positive for COVID-19.

The number of employees in quarantine caused staffing shortages, which forced ABS to close the store. During the closure, a specialized unit performed a deep cleaning and sanitization of the store, which included cleaning all surfaces and products and fogging with specialized machines.

Since the health crisis began, ABS has been deep cleaning all of its stores. Daily temperature checks are conducted of each employee and they are following enhanced cleaning protocols for high touch surfaces. In addition, plexiglass has been installed at the registers in each store to create a barrier between consumers and employees. ABS also has implemented policies requiring employees to wash their hands hourly and to use hand sanitizer between transactions. Face coverings and social distancing of at least six feet are required for customers and employees.

Earlier this month, ABS began providing bi-monthly testing for all employees who opt in as an extra safety measure. The testing is available for all ABS retail, warehouse and office employees.

ABS is the alcohol wholesaler of beer, wine and spirits for Montgomery County. ABS operates 25 beer, wine and spirits stores and one spirits only store in Poolesville. It manages alcohol licensing, enforcement and education for more than 1,000 businesses. Generating more than $35 million in net income annually, ABS profits are used to pay down County debt, with a large portion deposited in the County general fund to pay for resident services that would otherwise be funded by County tax dollars.

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