Amazon temporarily closed a warehouse in Queens, New York, after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. While two office workers at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters have been diagnosed with COVID-19, this is the first confirmed case in a US warehouse, The Atlantic reports. This comes as Amazon is working to keep up with a “significant increase in demand” and hiring an additional 100,000 warehouse employees.
Workers at the facility were notified via text Wednesday night that a positive case had been reported. The employee is receiving medical care and is quarantined, and all other employees were sent home with full pay. Thursday, Amazon told Engadget that it has reopened the facility.
Amazon also announced that it is seeking to hire some 100,000 additional full- and part-time workers in the U.S. alone. Amazon is raising minimum wages by $2 per hour in the U.S. (to $17 per hour) through April for all employees, with similar raises in Canada, the U.K., and Europe.
Amazon SVP of operations Dave Clark wrote in a blog post that the company is taking additional steps in its facilities to protect workers from COVID-19 exposure, including promoting “social distancing” in its warehouses and stepping up the frequency and thoroughness of its cleaning procedures.
While Amazon is encouraging employees who can work from home to do so, hourly workers in its warehouse and distribution centers cannot work from home. Amazon is filling a critical need for many, shipping supplies that may not be available locally. It has said it will prioritize cleaning and medical supply shipments, but if facilities are forced to close because of positive COVID-19 cases, the company will face an additional challenge.
