Two employees of Amazon in Italy, have tested positive for coronavirus, and both have been placed in quarantine.
The Company is offering support to both the affected workers, who are in Milan. According to the Company, none of its employees in the US have contracted the virus.
Amazon has been taking precautions for some time now. Not only has it ordered its employees to call off all unnecessary travel—especially to the US, where 88 cases and two deaths have been confirmed— it has also started relying on video interviews for its recruitment process instead of personal meetings.
According to Italy’s Civil Protection Authority, there are 1,694 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country and 34 deaths. It is the most affected country outside Asia, and the victims include medical professionals. Many cities in the northern part of the country have been placed under lockdown, with no one being allowed to leave or enter the area. It is reported that almost 100,000 people have been placed under quarantine.
Several tourist attractions, including museums have been closed, and scheduled public events have also been suspended.
The US, on the other hand, has asked people to restrict travel to Italy, especially to the affected regions of Vento and Lombardy. American Airlines is expected to suspend all US flights to and from Milan, from New York’s John F Kennedy Airport and Miami till 24 April. While the Airline will continue to run a single flight between Philadelphia and Rome in each direction, daily, seasonal service to Venice will hopefully resume only in May.
