Amazon confirms 1st case of coronavirus at a U.S. warehouse

Amazon has for the first time confirmed a case of the COVID-19 coronavirus at one of its warehouses in the United States.

An employee at an Amazon shipping facility in Queens, New York, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Bloomberg and The Atlantic report. The delivery station, which is located near LaGuardia Airport, has now been temporarily closed for cleaning, and the employees have been sent home with pay.

In a statement, Amazon said it is "supporting the individual who is now in quarantine" and has "implemented proactive measures to protect employees including increased cleaning at all facilities, maintaining social distance, and adding distance between drivers and customers when making deliveries."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

But The Washington Post in a report this week spoke to Amazon warehouse employees who expressed concerns that the company wasn't taking adequate precautions amid the coronavirus pandemic. "Warehouse workers in the United States and Europe say they worry their workplaces aren't safe enough and could contribute to the spread of the virus," the Post reported. Amazon warehouse workers in Italy and Spain had previously tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

On Wednesday, BuzzFeed News reported that Amazon, which this week announced it would hire an additional 100,000 workers, had "stopped requiring some of its warehouse employees to gather in closely packed groups for 'stand up' meetings before every shift" following complaints, but one employee told BuzzFeed that at their facility, "most containers are out of hand sanitizer and wipes are hard to find."

The coronavirus case in Queens "rattled" some workers, The Atlantic, which first reported the news, writes, also noting that "research suggests that the virus can live on cardboard for 24 hours, so there's a possibility that packages sick employees send may be contagious."