A Baltimore-area Amazon warehouse worker has tested positive for the new coronavirus, a spokesman confirmed Tuesday.
Amazon spokesman Timothy Carter confirmed that an employee at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Sparrows Point has tested positive for COVID-19 and wrote in an email that the company is “supporting the individual who is recovering.”
[ [3 more coronavirus deaths in Maryland brings total to 18, officials say] ]
“We are following guidelines from health officials and medical experts, and are taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of employees at the site,” Carter wrote.
The company maintains a policy where anyone who was in close contact with the diagnosed individual is asked to self-quarantine for 14 days, with pay.
Opened at the site of the former Sparrows Point steel mill in eastern Baltimore County, the 855,000-square-foot warehouse opened last year and employs 2,000 people.
[ Amazon shows off robotics in newly opened Sparrows Point warehouse ]
Amazon fired a worker who organized a walkout at a New York warehouse to demand greater protection against the new coronavirus, saying the employee himself flouted distancing rules and put others at risk.
Several Amazon workers walked out of the warehouse, demanding the facility be shut and cleaned during a paid time off after the co-worker tested positive for the virus. About 100 workers were expected to attend the rally, but Amazon said the actual number was much lower.
At least 1,660 cases of the disease have been confirmed in Maryland and at least 18 people have died from the virus, according to the state health department.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.