Amazon reports over 19,000, or 1.44%, of U.S. frontline employees had COVID-19

Amazon reports over 19,000, or 1.44%, of U.S. frontline employees had COVID-19 Amazon.com Inc on Thursday said more than 19,000 of its U.S. frontline workers contracted the coronavirus this year, or 1.44% of the total, a disclosure sought by labor advocates who have criticized the COVID-19 response of the world's largest online retailer. Jeffrey Dastin U.S.

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc on Thursday said more than 19,000 of its U.S. frontline workers contracted the coronavirus this year, or 1.44% of the total, a disclosure sought by labor advocates who have criticized the COVID-19 response of the world’s largest online retailer.

Some staff, elected officials and unions in recent months have said Amazon put employees’ health at risk by keeping warehouses open during the pandemic. Amazon said its rate of infection was 42% lower than expected when considering the virus’ spread in the general population.

Amazon in a blog post here encouraged other businesses to report comparable figures. It said it will expand virus testing to 50,000 U.S. employees per day by November through internally built capacity.

The disclosure by Amazon offers a rare look at the disease’s impact on a big U.S. employer. Amazon has kept facilities open to meet a surge in demand from shoppers stuck at home, adding temperature checks, social distancing software and other safety procedures.

Athena, a labor and activist coalition, called on officials to investigate Amazon and for more regular reporting by the company in light of the news. “Amazon allowed COVID-19 to spread like wildfire,” coalition director Dania Rajendra said in a statement.

Amazon said that out of its 1,372,000 frontline employees at Amazon and its Whole Foods Market subsidiary, 19,816 tested positive or were presumed to have COVID-19 between March 1 and Sept. 19. The figure includes seasonal staff and those who may have been infected outside work, it said. ...