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Amazon fulfillment center warehouse.
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Amazon is bringing back its mask mandate for warehouse workers amid an increase in Covid-19 cases due to the highly contagious delta variant.
Starting Monday, employees will be required to wear face coverings at Amazon’s operating facilities – even if they are vaccinated – according to a notice sent to employees Friday, which was consulted by CNBC.
“We hope this will only be necessary for a few weeks,” according to the notice, which was previously reported by Bloomberg. The new mask mandate applies to all U.S. Amazon sites, including where state and local guidelines do not require face masks.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel confirmed that the company is changing its policy on masks in warehouses.
“In response to the worrying spread of new variants of Covid-19 in the United States and the advice of public health authorities and our own medical experts, we are demanding indoor face coverings regardless of vaccination status.” Nantel said in a statement, adding that the company continues to monitor the situation closely to ensure that its buildings are “optimized for the safety of our teams”.
Previously, Amazon relaxed some of its coronavirus security measures. In May, the company told warehouse workers that they would no longer be required to wear a mask indoors if they were fully vaccinated. Last month, it started stopping Covid testing in U.S. warehouses, The Information reported.
Amazon did not force vaccination on its employees, but it did push employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus by offering them a bonus of up to $ 80. Additionally, he told new hires that they would get $ 100 for showing proof of vaccination.
The company also rescinded its return-to-work guidelines for company employees. Amazon said Thursday it was delaying its employees’ return to the office until January 2022, following in the footsteps of other tech companies that have adjusted their forecasts as the delta variant quickly spreads across the world.
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