E-commerce giant Amazon has reportedly shut down a small New York warehouse temporarily after learning that one of its workers tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus.
Reuters reports that e-commerce giant Amazon has stated that it is closing a small warehouse in New York temporarily after one of its associates tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus. The company stated that it has sent workers home from the delivery station with full pay as the entire warehouse is sanitized.
“We are supporting the individual who is now in quarantine,” Amazon said in a statement. “We continue to serve customers while taking care of our associates and we’re following all guidelines from local officials about the operations of our buildings.”
Reuters reports that this news could indicate that Amazon may close additional warehouses if more cases of the virus arise amongst staff. This would prove to be a huge issue for Amazon which is already grappling with out-of-stock goods and slower deliveries due to the Chinese virus.
Amazon has reportedly increased the cleaning of door handles, stair rails, and other surfaces at its facilities. The firm has also begun staggering shift times, spreading out break-room tables and asking drivers to keep their distance from customers when delivering orders. Many workers at Amazon’s facilities, however, have not been assuaged by these measures, more than 200 workers staged a strike at a warehouse in Saran in the south of Paris calling for the facility’s closure this week.
Amazon reportedly kept two warehouses in Spain running despite several workers testing positive for Wuhan coronavirus.
The recently closed New York delivery station is in the borough of Queens and is dubbed DBK1. It’s less than a tenth the size of Amazon’s larger fulfillment centers and its role is to sort orders for last-mile delivery according to logistics consultancy MWPVL International Inc.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com