Amazon on Sunday confirmed reports that two of its employees have contracted the deadly Coronavirus in Italy. Amazon spokesperson Drew Herdener said that the company was “supporting the affected employees, who were in Milan and are now in quarantine”, a New York Times report said on Sunday.
Amazon had earlier restricted all non-essential employee travel in the U.S. and beyond as the coronavirus continues to spread. The company also confirmed it was moving some recruiting interviews to video rather than in-person.
In a separate internal communication, Dave Clark, who runs Amazon’s retail operations, told employees to hold off on planning group or team meetings that require travel until at least the end of April, when he estimated that the company will have a better sense of the virus, its spread and its impact.
Meanwhile, Twitter and Google had also issued similar advisories, asking the employees to refrain from unnecessary travel to places hit by the virus. CEO Jack Dorsey made public announcement of not being able to attend the popular SXSW conference due to restrictions on travel within the company.
The Amazon news comes amid Italy struggling to contain the fast-spreading virus, with 1694 confirmed cases till Sunday, a 50% jump from the day before. The country has also reported 34 deaths till now.
