An Amazon employee in Seattle tested positive for COVID-19. Amazon stock (AMZN) lost over 2% on Tuesday but started gaining again in the premarket.
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced yesterday that one employee who works in one of its Seattle, Washington, offices has been tested positive for the coronavirus.
After the news, the Amazon (AMZN) stock price lost 2.3% and fell to 1,908.99 amid coronavirus. Now in the premarket, AMZN is 1.99% up. Its price is $1,947.
The company told the media:
″We’re supporting the affected employee who is in quarantine. The employee is based out of Amazon’s Brazil office building in Seattle, WA. The employee went home feeling unwell on Tuesday, February 25 and has not entered Amazon offices since that time. We notified the employees who we know were in close contact with this employee. The risk of transmission for employees who were not in close contact with this individual is assessed to be low.”
Amazon asked employees who are experiencing symptoms to stay home and seek medical attention.
Washington state has seen the largest surge of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., including several cases at a nursing facility.
Number of Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. is Growing
Nine people have died in Washington as of Tuesday evening. The total number of confirmed cases in the state stands at 27 as of Tuesday, up from 18 on Monday. Health officials said 231 people in the state are being monitored for the virus.
Per the last information, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that there are 60 confirmed cases of COVID-19 detected and tested in the U.S. as of Tuesday, March 3, with the total death toll at 7.
In addition, 48 cases were found among people who returned to the U.S. via State Department-chartered flights, including those who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, bringing the total number of cases to 108, the CDC also said.
Delays in Amazon Delivery due to Coronavirus
Earlier this week, the company said that Prime Now and Amazon Fresh deliveries could experience some delays as customers turn to the company’s services and stay away from physical stores amid growing fears over the coronavirus.
The e-commerce company has recently seen a growth of demand for both services, straining operations, and Amazon said there is limited availability of both.
Prime Now is Amazon’s fast delivery service, as in, delivery within a couple of hours, open to Prime subscribers. Amazon Fresh is the company’s grocery delivery platform.
Furthermore, on a corporate level, Amazon itself has stopped all nonessential travel for its employees including domestically and abroad. It is now legitimate to say that concerns of the coronavirus took the hit. And it’s not just Amazon. Almost all global companies took similar pre-cautious measures. Amazon on the other hand, employs 798,000 globally and the area around its home city of Seattle has been the hardest hit area in the U.S. by the spread of the virus.
Amazon Stopped Price Gouging on Protective Gear
Also, another thing happened where the company had to react promptly. Last week, Amazon had to remove more than 1 million products from its digital store that were fraudulently branded as coronavirus cures or safeguards.
And not just that, the online giant went also down on thousands of users who were selling protective gear and charging unreasonably high prices for it using the fear of community as the virus spreads. The company referred to the problem as “price gouging.”
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