Amazon Is Building a Chinese Virus Test Lab for Workers

Jeff Bezos speaks at an event before unveiling Blue Origin's Blue Moon lunar lander, Thurs
Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

E-commerce giant Amazon has reportedly begun construction a lab to test its workers for the Wuhan coronavirus in the latest effort by Jeff Bezos to ease his workers’ fears about the Chinese virus pandemic.

The Verge reports that e-commerce giant Amazon is building a lab to test its worker for the Wuhan coronavirus as many worry about the spread of the Chinese virus through Amazon’s warehouses. More than 50 Amazon-owned facilities have confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States according to the Financial Times.

In a recent blog post, Amazon stated that a shortage of testing capacity is making it difficult to keep people safe while keeping the economy moving. “Those who test positive could be quarantined and cared for, and everyone who tests negative could re-enter the economy with confidence,” the company said. “Unfortunately, today we live in a world of scarcity where COVID-19 testing is heavily rationed.”

Amazon is reportedly having its own specialists build the lab and hopes to begin testing soon. “A team of Amazonians with a variety of skills – from research scientists and program managers to procurement specialists and software engineers – have moved from their normal day jobs onto a dedicated team to work on this initiative,” said Amazon. “We have begun assembling the equipment we need to build our first lab and hope to start testing small numbers of our front-line employees soon.”

Amazon reportedly aims to test all employees but has stated that it may not be possible, ”We are not sure how far we will get in the relevant timeframe, but we think it’s worth trying,” the company said. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos reportedly toured Amazon fulfillment centers and Whole Foods stores recently where workers wore protective masks and gloves, many fearing that they too might catch the coronavirus. A video of the visit can be seen below:

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com

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