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Amazon informed U.S. warehouse workers on Friday that it was again forcing them to wear masks to work in response to the spread of the more contagious COVID-19 delta variant (via CNBC and Bloomberg). The company says it provides access to vaccines to more than half a million of its employees, but it will require employees to mask themselves, regardless of their immunization status.
Amazon confirmed the mask’s mandate in an email statement to The edge:
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 face covers indoors, regardless of vaccination status. We are closely monitoring the situation and will continue to follow local government guidance and work closely with key healthcare professionals, collecting their advice and recommendations as we move forward to ensure our buildings are optimized for the safety of our teams.
Non-warehouse workers currently do not have to deal with Amazon’s policy change. The company recently adjusted its plans to return to the office on August 5, pushing its return date back to January 2022. Like other companies, Amazon had previously considered implementing a hybrid work schedule, with plans to bring back clerical workers in the office for at least part of the week starting September 7.
Taking extra precautions for warehouse workers seems like a good idea if he plans to continue having staff work in person. Amazon reported in October 2020 that 19,816 workers of its 1,372,000 frontline workers across Whole Foods and Amazon had COVID-19 “or suspected positive” from March 1 to September 19, 2020.
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