North Haven Coronavirus Update: 4 Amazon Workers Test Positive

NORTH HAVEN, CT — At least four employees at the Amazon fulfillment center in North Haven have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to the Hartford Courant.

The Courant reports employees at the facility have received voicemails from Amazon notifying them of the situation. The voicemail said that they infected employees had not been at work since March 9, March 17 and March 22, according to the Courant.

Amazon officials confirmed the situation but did not say how many employees had tested positive for the coronavirus.

“We are supporting the individuals who are recovering,” Amazon spokesman Timothy Carter said in a statement to Patch. “We are following guidelines from health officials and medical experts, and are taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of employees at our site. Our employees are heroes fighting for their communities and helping people get critical items they need in this crisis—we have nearly 500,000 people in the U.S. alone supporting customers and we are taking measures to support each one.

“We’ve implemented a broad suite of new benefits changes for employees in our operations and logistics network including an additional $2 per hour, 2x base pay for overtime, and paid time off benefits for regular part-time and seasonal employees. We are encouraging those who are unwell to stay home and taking extreme measures to keep people safe in our buildings. And, since the early days of this situation, we have worked closely with health authorities to proactively respond, ensuring we continue to serve customers while taking care of our associates and teams. We have also implemented proactive measures at our facilities to protect employees including increased cleaning at all facilities, maintaining social distance in the FC, and adding distance between drivers and customers when making deliveries.”

When a COVID-19 case is confirmed in an Amazon facility, the company notifies everyone who works at the site and not just to those who’ve come in close contact with the diagnosed individual, according to Carter. All Amazon employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine receive up to two weeks of pay.

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