By
Chimamanda U. Martha
March 11th, 2024
In a memo to employees, Amazon has confirmed the second coronavirus case and notified all employees who came in contact with the infected person. Amazon has allowed remote working from home for all its employees through the month of March.
E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) has confirmed another case of coronavirus COVID-19 from its Seattle office on Friday. Speaking to CNBC, Amazon has confirmed that the employee has been kept in quarantine for the time period. As for the Amazon (AMZN) stock value, after hours it has lost around 1.5%.
Over the last month, the Amazon stock corrected over 25% in the massive market crash. However, on Friday, the AMZN stock recovered 6% going close to $1800. As of Friday closing, Amazon stock is trading at a price of $1785 with a market cap of $888 billion. The stock has is trading $100 down year-to-date.
Second Coronavirus Case at Amazon
On Friday, Amazon notified all their employees of this case via an email. Although the case has been detected from Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, it is not clear from where the employee works out of. Besides, Amazon has also notified its employees who may have been in direct contact with the individual.
“We’re supporting the affected employee who is in quarantine,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. Amazon has said that employees who were not in direct contact have lesser susceptibility to getting affected. The employee who has been suspected hasn’t visited the office after being diagnosed with the virus.
Amazon Asks Employees to Work Remotely
Earlier this month on March 3, an employee from Brazil office building in Seattle tested positive for COVID-19. In a memo to all the employees, Amazon said:
“The employee went home feeling unwell on Tuesday, February 25 and has not entered Amazon offices since that time.”
Since March 5, Amazon employees at its Seattle and Bellevue, Washington offices are working remotely. Pushing this policy globally, Amazon has asked its employees to work remotely by the end of March. This directive is applicable to employees at Amazon’s corporate offices.
However, with Amazon operating in the e-commerce industry, the employees working at its fulfillment center and delivery drivers can’t carry their job duties working from home. To take care of these employees the e-commerce giant has launched a $25 million relief fund dubbed the “Amazon Relief Fund”. Under this fund, employees can apply for a grant for up to two weeks of treatment in case they are diagnosed with the Coronavirus.
Besides, the company said that Amazon will provide two weeks of pay for all employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or being kept in quarantine. This incentive is over and above the unlimited unpaid time off for all hourly employees throughout the month of March, reports CNBC.