Amazon workers have been informed that the on-site COVID testing at US warehouses is will come to an end soon. First reported by The Information, Amazon is all set to ramp down the on-site COVID testing operations in the US, as early as July 30th.
Will Make a Comeback if Required
Informing employees that they have “many options available” in order to get free COVID testing done, from health providers to test sites,” Amazon proceeded to say that it would be dropping the testing process at its warehouses.
However, if required by the local legislations or under any new guidance public health officials, the company will be up for resuming its testing activities. The reason for the decision is said to be “progress” among the general public.
Multiple Attempts, But is There a Core Issue?
The change comes even as the rates of COVID infection and case detection are going up in the country, much like many other nations in the world. While the majority of the population in the United States has been vaccinated, most of the currently mounting cases have been attributed to the unvaccinated population.
The online retail giant had first come up with its plans for on-site testing operations back in October, when it aimed that it would carry out as many as 50,000 tests every day across 650 sites within a month. By May 19, the firm had tooted the horn of not requiring masks at fully vaccinated warehouse locations, unless specified by the law. Another attempt towards tackling the pandemic came through the sale of an an-home COVID test to consumers, for $39.99.
Moreover, the company has also been promoting the idea of getting vaccinated, by offering bonuses of as much as $80.
Nevertheless, these measures didn’t stop workers at certain warehouses from walking out, in the face of poor handling of the pandemic on Amazon’s part. Many members of the warehouse staff have claimed that the firm would often leave them in the dark, even if their colleagues came out to be positive.
The Bottom Line
While it remains to be seen if this “rolling back” of the programme would have any serious effects on over case detection rates, one might do well to be wary of the fact that cases are once again on the rise in many countries, including the United States. The reason for the same being the persistence of the Delta variant, which is rapidly taking to those who are as yet unvaccinated. And sadly, this particular category consists of almost half the country’s population.
