An employee at an Amazon warehouse in Indianapolis has died from the coronavirus.
The death brings the number of COVID-19 deaths at Amazon warehouses to at least seven. But The Verge noted Amazon’s practice of notifying workers makes the actual number hard to determine.
Some employees say they first learned of the death through rumors and finally had to confront management, according to The Verge.
“They weren’t going to say anything if it wasn’t for people asking questions,” said one worker at the warehouse.
However, an Amazon spokesperson said the company was made aware of the employee’s death on April 30 and immediately notified all workers in the warehouse.
“We are saddened by the loss of an associate at our site in Indianapolis,” the company said in a statement.
Word of the death came as the company is being asked by several states to provide information about health and safety measures.
Thirteen states on Tuesday sent a letter to the company expressing concern about recent media reports of “inadequate safety measures and sick leave policies, insufficient data about infections and deaths among their workers, and retaliation against workers who call attention to unsafe workplace conditions.”
And an Amazon (AMZN) whistleblower said he was fired after accusing the company of not being upfront with employees in regard to the coronavirus outbreak. Chris Smalls said that management had instructed him to stay quiet about a coronavirus outbreak in the New York City warehouse where he worked.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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