Business & Tech
Amazon Employees Test Positive For Coronavirus: Riverside County
Amazon is facing criticism from some workers who say the company is not providing employees with enough protection against coronavirus.
![In terms of public risk, the World Health Organization said the likelihood of contracting the virus from a package is low.](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/98363/20200330/011811/styles/patch_image/public/overnight-delivery-boxes-shutterstock-514897444___30131548819.jpg)
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A worker at an Amazon facility in Eastvale tested positive for COVID-19, the e-commerce giant announced Sunday.
"We are supporting the individual who is recovering," the company said in a statement. "We are following guidelines from health officials and medical experts, and are taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of employees at our site."
Amazon said all associates who had close contact with the person in the facility will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. During that time, quarantined employees will be paid.
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All hourly employees have unlimited unpaid time off through April and all employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or who need to go into quarantine will receive up to two weeks of pay, Amazon said.
The company also said they are stepping up sanitizing efforts and ensuring employees practice social distancing.
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Last week, Amazon reported that an employee at a fulfillment center in Moreno Valley tested positive for COVID-19.
The World Health Organization said the likelihood of contracting the virus from a package is low.
On Monday, workers at a Staten Island Amazon facility were planning a strike to demand stepped-up COVID-19 protections, while Amazon subsidiary Whole Foods Market may see thousands of its workers stay home Tuesday in a "nationwide sick-out" being organized by Whole Worker, a grassroots movement of Whole Foods employees. According to organizers, the sick-out is an effort to push the company to offer more protections for workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An Amazon spokesperson told CNN that the company's top priority is the health and safety of its employees, and that it "recently implemented daily temperature screenings in our operations sites as an additional preventative measure to support the health and safety of our customers and employees."
—City News Service contributed to this report.
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