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First U.S. Amazon Employee Tests Positive for Coronavirus

The Seattle-based employee fell in around February 25, 2020.

Source: Amazon

An Amazon employee has tested positive for coronavirus, according to both Bloomberg and Reuters. The Seattle-based employee fell in around February 25, 2020. Amazon has notified employees who have been in close contact with the person.

“We’re supporting the affected employee who is in quarantine,” the company said in a statement. This is the third case of coronavirus within Amazon, after two cases in Italy were confirmed earlier this week.

Washington state is the location of all nine U.S. deaths from the virus, most of those fatalities occurring at a Seattle suburb nursing home.

Amazon already requested that its nearly 800,000 employees halt non-essential travel within the US and elsewhere. Amazon has also had to deal with price gouging and misinformation on its marketplace in the wake of the virus outbreak. The company recently removed more than 1 million products for misleading claims or price gouging amid the outbreak of the virus. The move comes after numerous media reports that the cost of face masks and hand sanitizers from third-party merchants was skyrocketing on the platform.

“There is no place for price gouging on Amazon,” a company spokesperson told ABC News. “We are disappointed that bad actors are attempting to artificially raise prices on basic-need products during a global health crisis, and, in line with our longstanding policy, have recently blocked or removed tens of thousands of offers.”

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Source: Equities News

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