AMZN Amazon.com Inc

By Sebastian Herrera

Amazon.com Inc. said an employee at a delivery station in Queens, New York, has tested positive for Covid-19, the latest sign of the degree to which Amazon's massive fulfillment network is being tested by the novel coronavirus.

Amazon, which first identified the case Wednesday and temporarily closed the facility, has reopened it. In Europe, five Amazon warehouse workers earlier tested positive for Covid-19, with three of the cases coming from two warehouses in Spain and two cases from a warehouse in the Italian town of Castel San Giovanni.

In a statement, Amazon said the company has "worked closely with local authorities to proactively respond, ensuring we continue to serve customers while taking care of our associates and we're following all guidelines from local officials about the operations of our buildings." Amazon said it has no other confirmed cases in U.S. warehouses.

The Queens station has been at the center of a battle between warehouse employees and Amazon over worker rights during the virus outbreak.

A group of workers at the warehouse calling themselves Amazonians United have demanded the company provide paid sick leave without a current requirement of an official diagnosis. They have also called for facilities to be shut down if a worker tests positive for the disease caused by the virus, among other requests. The petition has received more than 1,500 signatures from workers at many locations, organizers said.

Last week, Amazon began providing paid sick leave to all workers after having allowed employees to take an unlimited amount of unpaid time off through the end of March. But some workers have said the paid sick leave policy, which employees can only access if they have a confirmed virus diagnosis, doesn't account for workers who are feeling ill before being tested, or those who have sick family members at home. The problem is more evident with a shortage of testing kits available in the U.S.

Write to Sebastian Herrera at Sebastian.Herrera@WSJ.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2020 13:40 ET (17:40 GMT)

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