Amazon confirms first Covid-19 case in its Queens new york warehouse

​From Bloomberg News

Amazon revealed an employee working at one of its Queens shipping facilities has contracted Covid-19, the first infection reported in its U.S. delivery network, which has become a lifeline of essentials for consumers sheltering at home.

Amazon temporarily closed the warehouse, which is near LaGuardia Airport—sending workers home with full pay—so it could be cleaned and sanitized. The confirmed case was in an Amazon “delivery station,” much smaller than a so-called fulfillment center, where thousands of employees work with robots to pack and ship orders. Amazon did not disclose how many people work at the Queens facility.

The U.S. giant’s delivery network has been overwhelmed by unrelenting demand from shoppers looking to stock up on supplies and heeding government advice to avoid stores and public gatherings. Monday it announced it would be hiring 100,000 workers and temporarily boosting pay by $2 per hour to keep up. It is accepting shipments to its warehouses only of essential goods including groceries, medical supplies and pet food from independent merchants selling items on its websites.

AMAZON QUEENS WAREHOUSE