An Amazon employee working for the company in Seattle has become its first US worker to contract the Coronavirus, it's been confirmed.
Bloomberg reports that all workers employed at Amazon's South Lake Union office complex who'd been in contact with the sufferer were informed about the case yesterday via email. The was the same day that they were informed that their employee had contracted Covid-19, having initially left work on 25 February due to feeling ill.
"We're supporting the affected employee who is in quarantine," the company said in a statement.
Although this is the first case of an Amazon US employee contracting the illness, two Italian workers have been struck ill, as reports of the virus continue to surface across Europe. The company will limit nonessential travel within the US and cancel warehouse tours, while some job interviews are being conducted remotely rather than via face-to-face.
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LADbible has reached out to Amazon for comment.
Seattle - and the wider Washington state - has been one of the worst-hit US cities since the outbreak reached American shores last month, with 23 people infected and nine people dying, five of whom were reportedly residents of a nursing home in the suburb of Kirkland.
There have been school closures, while emergency services who have transported those who are infected are currently in quarantine.
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Globally now there have been more than 92,000 infections and over 3,100 deaths, with the elderly and vulnerable most likely to succumb to the virus.
In Italy the death count is now 79, while yesterday the UK set out its own preparation plans to deal with the spread of the novel coronavirus.
There have also been suggestions that large sporting and cultural events, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, could be cancelled.
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Concerns have also been voiced that the virus may cause a slowdown of the global economy, with the Federal Reserve in the US slashing rates in the first emergency rate cut since the financial crisis of 2008.
Ways you can combat the spread of the virus include simple hygiene steps like making sure you wash your hands regularly, avoid touching your face and throwing used tissues in the bin. The WHO (World Health Organisation) has also suggested switching to contactless payments to avoid contamination from bank notes.
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