Amazon said it is closing a warehouse in New Jersey until Dec. 26 after an increase in asymptomatic coronavirus cases detected by the company’s internal testing program.
An Amazon spokesman said workers will be paid for all the shifts they are missing and the company does not expect delivery delays due to the temporary closure of the warehouse known as the PNE5 facility.
“Through our in-house COVID-19 testing program, we detected an increase in the number of asymptomatic positive cases at the PNE5 unit in northern New Jersey and proactively shut down the site by December 26 as a precaution,” the spokesman said. Amazon’s Leah Seay said in a statement Monday to The Hill.
Seay did not answer questions about how many Amazon employees gave positive results at the warehouse or whether the company intends to temporarily close any other facilities.
The online retail giant has been subject to scrutiny by workers ‘and warehouse workers’ lawyers in general over health and safety conditions during the pandemic. The company defended its actions to protect workers, including the provision of protective equipment and the improvement of cleaning protocols.
Amazon has temporarily closed facilities in Queens, NY, as well as in Kentucky due to coronavirus cases among workers earlier this year.
Earlier this month, Amazon reportedly wrote a letter to the federal government asking it to prioritize essential work at warehouses, grocery stores and data centers to get the coronavirus vaccine.
Vaccine launches have begun across the country, starting with health workers and residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory panel on Sunday recommended that people aged 75 and over, as well as some key front-line workers, be next in line for vaccines.