An Amazon warehouse worker in Ohio has died from the novel coronavirus, becoming the eighth known employee to succumb to the illness. Th...
An Amazon warehouse worker in Ohio has died from the novel coronavirus, becoming the eighth known employee to succumb to the illness.
The female worker, who had been with Amazon since November 2018, worked at the company's packing plant in North Randall, 11 miles outside of Cleveland, reported NBC News.
Spokesperson Lisa Levandowksi said the woman, who has not been identified, was last on the job on April 30, the same day she was diagnosed.
However, the company only learned of her test results on May 8, and she died on May 18.
The company has refused to release complete data on the number of employees who have been infected, died or recovered from coronavirus.
The female employee worked in packing at an Amazon fulfillment center in North Randall, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. She was diagnosed on April 30 and died on May 18
'We are saddened by the loss of an associate who had worked at our site in Randall, Ohio,' Levandowski told NBC News.
'Her family and loved ones are in our thoughts, and we are supporting her fellow colleagues.'
At least seven other Amazon warehouse workers have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
NBC News reports that those deaths have taken place in Hawthorne, California; Tracy, California; Waukegan, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Jeffersonville, Indiana; Bethpage, New York; and Staten Island, New York.
Levandowski said Amazon is providing grief counseling to the woman's colleagues and utilizing contact tracing.
At least 13 state attorneys have asked for Amazon to provide data on the actual number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
However, Amazon has refused to release any figures regarding the number of employees affected by the disease -but says it is improving the safety of its workers.
This includes providing face masks and temperature checks and disinfecting surfaces such as elevators buttons and door handles.
'We respect the rights of employees to protest and recognize their legal right to do so,' Amazon said in a statement last month,
'However, these rights do not provide blanket immunity against bad actions, particularly those that endanger the health, well-being or safety of their colleagues.'
Hourly pay has also been increased for its workers by $2 per hour and those that are diagnosed with the disease will receive paid sick leave.
Amazon has seen an increase in its service with more people quarantined at home and needing deliveries, and this good news for the company's CEO Jeff Bezos.
A recent report from Comparisun, which compares popular small business services and products, predicted that Bezos will become the world's first trillionaire, a status he may reach by 2026 at age 62.
In the US, there are currently more than 1.6 million confirmed cases of the virus and more than 95,000 deaths.
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