Technology

Eighth Amazon warehouse worker dies of coronavirus

Amazon announced Thursday that another one of its warehouse workers died from complications associated with the coronavirus.

The recent death marks eight employees the tech giant has lost because of the disease.

The employee who passed was a woman who had been with the company since November 2018. She was staffed at Amazon’s fulfillment center just outside of Cleveland in North Randall, Ohio, according to NBC News.

“We are saddened by the loss of an associate who had worked at our site in Randall, Ohio,” Amazon spokeswoman Lisa Levandowski told the network. “Her family and loved ones are in our thoughts, and we are supporting her fellow colleagues.”

Levandowski said the employee’s last day of work at the center was April 30 — she was diagnosed with the virus on the same day. Her sister-in-law told the company that she had died Monday.

Amazon hasn’t released reporting on the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases at the company. Levandowski told NBC News that Amazon didn’t view the specific number as “super valuable.”

The company received flak for its poor working conditions before the pandemic began, and those complaints have only increased as the virus has ravaged the country.

Amazon told the network that it implemented deep cleaning of high-touch areas in February. Company employees have reportedly been provided with masks and have been required to wear them since April 15.