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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Amazon in talks with coronavirus test makers

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Amazon in talks with coronavirus test makers
Amazon in talks with coronavirus test makers

Amazon.com has been in touch with two coronavirus test makers as it considers how to screen its staff and reduce infection risks at its warehouses, Reuters has learned.

Fred Katayama reports.

Reuters has learned Amazon.com is in touch with two coronavirus test makers as it considers how to screen its staff and reduce infection risks at its warehouses.

Internal meeting notes seen by Reuters say the online retailer is talking to CEOs at Abbott Laboratories and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

The CEOs said they'd like to work with Amazon but said their testing capacity is taken up by the U.S. government.

The documents also say talks touched upon whether Amazon could start such tests in at least one warehouse near its Seattle headquarters.

In a statement Saturday, Abbott confirmed it has been contacted by Amazon and other companies to provide testing for their workforces.

Thermo Fisher did not respond to a request for comment, and Amazon declined to comment.

The drive to increase screening measures come as Amazon faces protests at several warehouses, where employees say they increasingly fear they'll contract the coronavirus at work.

The company plans to roll out temperature checks and face masks for workers at all its U.S. and European warehouses by early next week.

In the longer term, the notes say, Amazon wants to test workers for the virus and hopes other companies will follow suit.

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