AMAZON employees say on multiple occasions they have not been told when co-workers have been infected with the coronavirus.
At least one warehouse has shut down in Kentucky, and COVID-19 cases have been reported at other locations around the US.
A worker in Michigan said she first heard the rumors about the Amazon cases on Facebook over the weekend.
Amazon confirmed to Local Four News on Tuesday that there was a coronavirus case at the facility in Brownstown.
“They should have closed that building down and sanitized that whole building before they let us come in,” Bobbi Johnson told The Verge.
“And they should have given everyone a robocall, because you never know if you bumped into that person in the bathroom or anything, because not only are you putting your life at risk, you’re putting the people that you come in contact with’s lives at stake.”
Johnson and other employees had confronted someone from Human Resources to find out about the case, according to The Verge.
She told the news outlet that her son, who has asthma, has had trouble breathing and that her daughter now has a dry cough.
Johnson is staying home without pay and has not been able to get tested.
Kelly McIntosh-Butler, who works at the same facility, is the one who told the local TV station about the case.
“Here I am, a week after being exposed to it, and I’ve already been to work three other times, three other days breathing on people,” McIntosh-Butler told The Verge.
“This is how this thing is getting out of control right now.”
There have been similar allegations of communication failure at other facilities around the US, including at a warehouse in Joliet, Illinois.
“Me and some other ladies went to human resources and confronted them about it, and we thought they’ll do something as far as shutting the building down or doing a lot of cleaning,” Stephanie Haynes said, according to The Verge.
Employees were told the facility would be cleaned and the building was not shut down, according to the news outlet.
Amazon said in a statement to The Verge that "we are supporting the individuals, following guidelines from local officials, and are taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of all the employees at our sites."
There have now been 500,000 confirmed cases around the world, including 70,000 in the US.
More than 1,000 people in the country have died from the coronavirus.
Both Italy and the U.S. on track to surpass China in the number of cases.
Nearly three billion people, more than one-third of the planet, are under severe travel restrictions.
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