Amazon Orders All US Employees to Mask Up at Work as COVID-19 Delta Variant Cases Surge

Last month, Google and Facebook asked US employees to get vaccinated to step into offices, while Twitter said it was shutting its reopened offices.

By Reuters | Updated: 7 August 2021 10:35 IST

Amazon Orders All US Employees to Mask Up at Work as COVID-19 Delta Variant Cases Surge

Amazon is reportedly working closely with leading medical healthcare professionals

Highlights

Amazon US employees need to wear masks regardless of vaccination status
Companies across the US have tightened their defenses against the virus
Amazon extended its work-from-home dates for US employees till January 3

Amazon.com has ordered all US employees to wear a mask at work regardless of their vaccination status, as the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 sweeps the country.

Companies across the United States have tightened their defenses against the virus, after the Delta variant forced the US public health agency to reverse course and insist on even fully vaccinated individuals wearing masks.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to follow local government guidance and work closely with leading medical healthcare professionals, gathering their advice and recommendations as we go forward to ensure our buildings are optimized for the safety of our teams," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

Google Mandates COVID-19 Vaccines for All Employees, Delays Return to Office

Last month, big techs including Alphabet's Google and Facebook asked US employees to get vaccinated to step into offices, while Twitter said it was shutting its reopened offices in the country.

Amazon also extended its work-from-home dates for US employees till January 3.

Earlier this week, coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 200 million while US cases stood at 35.62 million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally.

Twitter Closes Re-Opened US Offices Due to Surge in COVID-19 Delta Cases

Bloomberg News first reported Amazon's change in masking policy on Friday.

Is OnePlus cannibalising itself with the Nord 2 5G? We discussed this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.