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Employee at Amazon facility in Indianapolis tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at 6:55 PM, Mar 31, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-31 18:55:36-04

INDIANAPOLIS — An employee at an Amazon facility in Indianapolis has tested positive for COVID-19, the company confirmed in a statement.

Amazon issued the following statement about the positive test:

We are supporting the individual who is recovering. We are following guidelines from health officials and medical experts, and are taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of employees at our site.

The company has posted about the measures it is taking to protect employees and partners in a post on the Amazon blog.

A company spokesman said the company will alert any associate who had close contact with this person and ask them to not return to the site and self-quarantine for 14 days. Amazon said they will pay those associates for their time at home.

Amazon said they have informed all employees at the impacted site of the confirmed case.

The spokesman said the company said any Amazon employee diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine will receive up to two weeks of pay. Employees also have unlimited unpaid time off for hourly employees through the end of April.

In addition, the company has increased both the frequency and intensity of cleaning and sanitizing at all sites of frequently used objects including door handles, stairway handrails, elevator buttons, lockers and touch screens, among others.

The company has implemented practices designed to ensure social distancing by eliminating stand-up meetings during shifts, moving chairs and spreading out tables in break rooms, staggering shift start time and break times to promote social distancing.