Amazon started banning sales of face masks to the public on the e-commerce marketplace on 1 April 2020, and will only allow government officials and hospitals to purchase N95 respirators and other medical supplies in large volumes, according to Recode.
The move was made to combat the shortage of medical equipment in hospitals during the fight against coronavirus. The Centers for Disease and Prevention Control (CDC) also announced for the masses to wear cloth face masks to protect themselves and leave the N95 masks to medical staff, creating a quick tutorial to teach people how to make their own without sewing skills.
Amazon is also taking steps to ensure its workers are properly treated during the virus crisis. Amazon declared that it will be giving out masks to its workers in warehouses and Whole Foods employees in the US and Europe.
The company will also start checking temperatures of personnel, according to Reuters. Anyone with temperatures higher than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit will be sent home.
The new policies follow a confirmed case of COVID-19 by a worker in an Amazon warehouse. Managers at the facility were also photographed flouting social distancing guidelines, prompting an investigation by the tech giant.
To all of our Amazon heroes on the floor, in the air or behind the wheel— thank you. pic.twitter.com/clLYdqQYtY
— Amazon (@amazon) March 27, 2020
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