Amazon warehouse employee in Sacramento tests positive for coronavirus, company confirms
A worker has tested positive for the coronavirus at Amazon’s warehouse near Sacramento International Airport, making the sprawling facility one of at least 11 warehouses operated by Amazon to be invaded by COVID-19.
Spokesman Timothy Carter confirmed Friday that an employee had contracted the diseases and “is recovering.”
“We are following guidelines from health officials and medical experts, and are taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of employees at our site,” Carter said in an email to The Sacramento Bee.
Amazon’s business has boomed since the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of most brick-and-mortar retailers around the country. The disclosure of the coronavirus infection came the same day the e-commerce giant announced it has hired another 800 workers in Sacramento in the past month to keep up with demand.
But as sales have exploded, so has the scrutiny over Amazon’s methods of keeping workers safe. Workers in Sacramento complained to The Bee last month that Amazon was adhering to three feet of social distancing even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended at least six feet of separation.
The three-foot guidance came from the World Health Organization. Amazon in late March switched to the six-foot standard.
Last month the Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, reported that employees had tested positive for the coronavirus in 10 other Amazon facilities around the country, including one in Moreno Valley in California’s Inland Empire.
Any Amazon warehouse employee who tests positive or is placed in quarantine gets up to two weeks of pay, Carter said. He added that whenever a COVID-19 case is confirmed, every employee who works in the building is notified, not just those working in close proximity to the employee who was diagnosed with the disease.
Known inside the company as SMF1, the Sacramento site opened in 2017, one of a string of warehouses Amazon opened in California to speed deliveries to customers.