Multiple Coronavirus Cases At Amazon Warehouse In Milford

MILFORD, MA — As many as six employees at the Amazon warehouse in Milford have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to workers at the Industrial Road facility. The company has declined to give exact figures, but local health officials have confirmed a number of infections.

The labor nonprofit United for Respect published a map tracking outbreaks at Amazon warehouses across the United States. A spokesperson for the group told Patch that the map data is self-reported by Amazon employees.

The Milford Board of Health confirmed that up to four Amazon employees tested positive in early May, but a more up-to-date figure was not immediately available. An Amazon spokeswoman declined to say how many employees at the Milford warehouse tested positive.

The workers who tested positive were placed in quarantine, along with some of their close contacts. All the employees who tested positive live outside Milford, Health Director Jacquelyn Murphy said.

"We’ve spoken to Amazon employees who tested positive for COVID-19 and the human resources employees in the past when they had fewer than six cases," Murphy said in an email. "During the conversations, we helped employees and HR understand requirements of isolation, determine who should be sent home to quarantine since they qualified as 'close contacts.'"

Outside of Milford, workers at Amazon facilities in Fall River and Stoughton have reported positive tests. Employees at facilities in Hartford and New Haven in Connecticut have also reported outbreaks.

Amazon spokeswoman Rachael Lighty said that the company expects to spend some $800 million on "extreme measures" to protect workers from the coronavirus. Job sites follow social distancing guidelines and employees are subject to precautions like wearing masks and getting their temperature taken. Some workers are also receiving a $2 per-hour hazard pay boost.

Employees who test positive, Lighty said, will be sent home for a paid 14-day quarantine. Workers who have been in contact with someone who tested positive may be subject to quarantine, too. She stressed that Amazon facilities have infection rates much lower than communities where warehouses are located.

"Unlike others who hide beyond [the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act], anytime there is a confirmed diagnosis we alert every person at the site," Lighty said. "This alert to employees is a direct text message noting when the person with the confirmed diagnosis was last in the building —even if it’s been a month or more."

As far as coronavirus spreading on packages delivered in the mail, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the risk is low: "Although the virus can survive for a short period on some surfaces, it is unlikely to be spread from domestic or international mail, products or packaging."

Even with precautions in place, the United for Respect map shows scores of facilities with outbreaks.

At least four Amazon workers have died of coronavirus in Illinois, California and New York City. This week, 14 state attorneys general — including Massachusetts Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau chief Cynthia Mark — sent a letter to Amazon that, in part, sought exact figures on coronavirus deaths and infections at warehouses and Whole Foods supermarkets.

As the coronavirus began to surge in the U.S., Amazon was criticized for firing a worker at a Staten Island facility who led a walkout over coronavirus safety. Amazon contends the worker's firing was due to him violating social distancing guidelines and other offenses. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted about the outbreaks at Amazon warehouses, criticizing the Seattle-based company for "whistleblower retaliation."

"Some Amazon warehouses closed for deep cleaning after employees tested positive for COVID-19, but that’s not good enough," she wrote. "Our federal whistleblower laws to protect workers concerned about workplace COVID-19 exposure need to be a lot stronger."

With many businesses across Massachusetts and the nation closed, Amazon has become a necessity for shoppers. The company earned $75 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2020, about $15 billion more than the same period in 2019.

CEO Jeff Bezos' was worth an estimated $143 billion on Thursday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index — about $32 billion more than when coronavirus began sweeping the nation in mid-March.

Workers at the Milford warehouse earn about $15.25 to start. Amazon also operates warehouses in Everett and Nashua in New Hampshire and employs workers at Whole Foods stores across the state.