ugc_banner

Amazon to develop COVID-19 test for screening employees

WION Web Team
New Delhi, IndiaEdited By: Bharat SharmaUpdated: Apr 17, 2020, 08:24 PM IST
main img
Photograph:(AFP)

Story highlights

In his annual letter, CEO Jeff Bezos said that “regular testing will both help keep people safe and help get the economy back up and running"

In a bid to kick start the economy, Amazon has started to develop a test for COVID-19.

In his annual letter, CEO Jeff Bezos said that “regular testing will both help keep people safe and help get the economy back up and running."

He added that they need to undertake "vastly more testing capacity" than currently available.

To achieve the goals Bezos has assembled a team of employees to conjure the tools for successful testing of COVID-19.

Amazon will begin testing "small numbers" of its employees soon, CNN reported.

"We are not sure how far we will get in the relevant time frame, but we think it's worth trying, and we stand ready to share anything we learn," Bezos wrote.

The company has recently invited ire owing to its treatment of critics within its workforce, who were then fired.

Bezos recently showed reinforced his focus on ensuring the safety of his employees.

Apparently, over 150 “significant process changes” have been made it its regular operations and networking.

These include regular temperature checks, increased sanitation of facilities and offering personal protection equipment, like masks, to its employees.

So far, numerous Amazon facilities have registered cases of COVID-19. Washington, California, and New York have reported cases, where centres have been closed.

After Amazon decided to keep warehouses open, many employees staged walkout protests.

To meet the pressure in demand, Amazon recently hired over 200,000 new workers.