Amazon Distribution Center Remains Open Despite Coronavirus Case

JOLIET, IL — An employee at Joliet’s Amazon distribution center has tested positive for the new coronavirus, but there are no plans to close the facility, at least for now, the company announced on Wednesday. An Amazon spokesman at the company’s headquarters in Seattle confirmed that the worker tested positive but has not been on site since March 18. The worker has received medical attention and is in quarantine, the company said.

“We are supporting the individual who is recovering,” Amazon spokesman Timothy Carter wrote in an email. “We are following guidelines from local officials and are taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of employees at the site.”

Carter indicated that employees in Joliet have been told that anyone who was in contact with the diagnosed individual should stay home with pay for a 14-day period of self-quarantine.

According to an Amazon distribution center employee who has been granted anonymity by Patch, after being informed of the positive case on Tuesday, employees were notified that the warehouse will remain open unless another worker is infected with the virus. The announcement of the positive case was made on a private Facebook group page for local employees, the worker indicated in an email to Patch on Tuesday. The employee also wrote that employees were told that the facility would remain open until a second positive case emerged – at which point the situation would be considered an outbreak.

According to Amazon, the company is providing any employee who tests positive for COVID-19 or who are forced to quarantine two weeks of pay. The additional pay, while away from work, is to ensure employees have the time to return to health without the worry of lost income.

While the Joliet distribution center plans to remain open, Amazon officials said the company part of the “extreme measures” being taken at its facilities includes consulting medical experts on how to handle building closures for deep cleaning.

In addition, the company has instituted practices to ensure social distancing, including:

- No stand-up meetings during shifts – all business essential information will be shared via boards near main areas and through conversations with managers, or HR team members

- Moving chairs and spreading out tables in break rooms

- Shift start times and break times are being staggered to promote social distancing

- Suspended exit screening until further notice to ensure ease of movement near main entrances

- Enabled temporary cell phone process for those who need to be in contact with their families or childcare providers

- Training will take place in small formats and with in-app training tools and other equipment

- Requiring employees to stay home and seek medical attention if they are feeling unwell and have adjusted attendance policies to support this.

- Requiring employees to sanitize and clean their work stations and vehicles at the start and end of every shift with disinfectant/cleaning wipes.

- Asked employees to defer non-essential travel.

- Moved to video-based interviews for the majority of our candidate interviews.

- Communicated to employees that everyone must wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing their nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.