Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has confirmed that one of its employees at the Seattle officers has tested positive for COVID-19 as concerns over the spread of the virus in the US continue to mount.
Amazon employee in Seattle office infected with coronavirus
On Tuesday the company’s spokeswoman confirmed that there had been a reported case of coronavirus at its Seattle headquarters where Amazon has over 55,000 employees. The company indicated that it had informed other employees that might have been in contact with the infected employees. According to the company, the risk of transmission for the employees who might have been in contact with the infected person is very low. The company asked employees who might experience any symptoms of the virus to stay at home
The company indicated that the employee went home on February 25 feeling unwell but has not returned to the offices since. Amazon stated that it is supporting the infected employee who is quarantined. The employee worked out of the Brazil office building on 9th avenue in Seattle, which is blocks away from the Amazon Spheres.
Washington most hit state with coronavirus cases
Amazon has a huge number of employees in Seattle where it is headquartered; thus, an outbreak of coronavirus could potentially impact the company and the city both economically and socially. Currently, Washington is among states where high numbers of coronavirus cases have been reported with the number being around 27 and nine deaths. Most of the reported cases are King count which also includes Seattle, where a nursing home for elderly people reported infections. It’s not clear if the Amazon case is related to the nursing home.
The US has reported around 127 coronavirus cases of infections according to data from John Hopkins University. The virus has infected over 93,000 people globally, with around 3,200 deaths reports. The number of new infections in China has been reducing, but cases outside China where the virus originated have been growing. According to the NHC, there have been 119 new cases with four cases reported in Hubei.
