Nearly 20,000 of our employees have contracted COVID-19 ─Amazon

*Company has faced criticism for keeping its warehouses open, not sharing data with public and workers about pandemic

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

Hitherto accused of alleged negligence and misinformation about the staff welfare in the wake of the outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Amazon has disclosed that nearly 20,000 of its workers in the United States (US) have tested positive, or been presumed positive for COVID-19.

ConsumerConnect reports that the leading e-commerce giant disclosed this in a blog post Friday, October 2, 2020.

However, the company revealed that its analysis suggested that the rate of infection among its 1.4 million workers was 42 percent lower than the “expected number” when compared to rates among the general population during the same period.

Amazon, which saw its business increase significantly at the onset of the pandemic, has maintained that its fulfillment centre and Whole Foods employees are safe under its enhanced COVID-19 health and safety measures.

In spite of the company’s assurances before now, it has faced criticism for keeping its warehouses open and not sharing data with the public and its workers about the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at its warehouses.

Athena, a group of activists pushing for greater regulatory oversight of Amazon, said “Amazon is, in no uncertain terms, a threat to public health.”

Athena argues that Amazon allowed the virus to “spread like wildfire” in its facilities and needs to be investigated by public health officials.