Amazon Removes Mask Requirement For Fully Vaccinated Staff

Amazon late last week made a healthcare change about mask wearing for its warehouse workers in certain parts of the United States.

According to CNN, Amazon in an internal memo last Thursday announced that in US states that have eased up on mask mandates (such as California, Oregon and Delaware), warehouse workers in those states will no longer have to wear face masks.

There is a proviso however. Staff will need to be fully vaccinated in order to stop wearing the masks.

Mask wearing

Those Amazon warehouse workers who are not yet fully vaccinated, or those within US states that have not eased their mask mandates, will still be required to wear facemasks inside Amazon facilities.

“There has been a sharp decline in Covid-19 cases across the country over the past weeks,” the memo stated. CNN obtained a copy of the memo and its authenticity was confirmed by Amazon.

“Along with increasing vaccination rates across the country, this is a positive sign we can return to the path to normal operations,” Amazon was quoted as saying.

The e-commerce giant declined to comment further, but the same memo reportedly announced plans to restrict its offer of Covid-related paid leave.

From 18 March, only fully vaccinated employees will be eligible to receive Covid-19 paid leave in the United States. The restriction does not apply to those with medical or religious exemptions.

Unvaccinated employees that are not eligible for paid leave under the policy may still take up to one week of unpaid leave for Covid isolation or quarantine, CNN reported.

The US has a low rate of its population that are fully vaccinated against Coronavirus, not helped by the scaremongering and misinformation efforts by some.

The United States only has 64.7 percent of its population fully vaccinated, compared to 72.5 percent in the UK, and 74.8 percent in Germany.

Protection measures

There is no clear current indication of how many of Amazon’s workforce have been infected by Covid-19, since the pandemic began in Q1 2020.

That said, in October 2020 the firm revealed nearly 20,000 staff had been infected by Covid-19.

The firm has also been criticised for failing to protect staff during the pandemic, and in February 2021 Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, filed a lawsuit against Amazon, alleging ‘disregard for health and safety requirements’ and retaliation against employees who raised alarms.

But Amazon has undertaken measures to protect its staff, right from the start of the pandemic.

Amazon it should be remembered built its own Coronavirus testing labs to monitor the health of its staff as far back as April 2020, when the pandemic really began ravaging the world.

It also introduced many protection measures for its staff during the pandemic, but last year temporarily halted its on-site testing of US warehouse workers for Coronavirus, despite ongoing infections in the United States.

Amazon also endured some flak on social media when it revealed plans to install “wellness” booths displaying videos about relaxation into its warehouses as part of its response to criticism over staff working conditions.

In October Amazon was by sued warehouse workers in Colorado, over the length of their own time it takes to screen them for Covid-19, before they can clock-in.

It is alleged that workers at Amazon’s Colorado warehouses wait up to an hour to be screened for Coronavirus before being allowed to clock in.

Last November Amazon was fined $500,000 by officials in California, after the state’s attorney general alleged the company failed to “adequately notify” workers and health authorities about new Covid-19 cases.