Amazon closes New Jersey warehouse as new coronavirus asymptomatic infections increase

　China News ServiceDecember 21, according to the U.S. Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) report on the 20th, the U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon said that due to the increasing number of asymptomatic infections of the new coronavirus, it has closed a warehouse in New Jersey until December 26 out of caution.

An Amazon spokesperson reportedly said: "Through the company's internal COVID-19 screening program, we found that the number of asymptomatic employees in the PNE5 warehouse in northern New Jersey has increased. Out of an abundance of caution, (we) proactively closed the warehouse until (December) 26."

The spokesperson also said that the company's employees will still be paid if they miss shifts during the warehouse closure. However, she did not disclose the number of employees diagnosed with the new coronavirus at the PNE5 warehouse, nor did she answer whether the warehouse would undergo additional cleaning during the closure.

In October 2020, Amazon said that nearly 20,000 of its employees had been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, accounting for approximately 1.441% of the company's total employees.

Most of Amazon's warehouses have remained open during the pandemic because they are considered "essential" facilities, the report said.

However, in March 2020, Amazon temporarily closed a delivery station in Queens, New York, after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus. That month, the company also closed a facility in Kentucky.

Amazon has previously said it has "done its best" to keep its facilities clean and ensure that employees follow necessary safety precautions, such as wearing masks, using hand sanitizer, and maintaining social distance. Amazon has also set up testing sites at its important warehouses and said in October that the company is conducting thousands of coronavirus tests every day.

However, warehouse and delivery workers across the United States have called on Amazon to take more measures to protect front-line employees, including restoring temporary pay raises and providing paid sick leave. [Editor: Kong Qingling]