Amazon fires employee who accused company of making them work in unsafe conditions

Amazon has fired an employee for allegedly taking part in a protest despite being advised to self-isolate after coming in contact with another employee who tested positive for coronavirus. According to reports, Christian Smalls, an Amazon employee joined an estimated 50 to 60 workers in a protest to demand the Staten Island facility of the company be shut down and cleaned after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Staten Island is in New York state, which is one of the most affected regions in the United States with over 59,000 positive COVID-19 cases. 

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Amazon reportedly said that Smalls participated in the demonstration despite the company's request that he self-isolate after he came in contact with COVID-19 positive employee. Amazon also commented on the Twitter post made by Smalls accusing the company of making positive coronavirus cases work in its warehouses. Amazon said the Smalls made misleading statements about the conditions at its warehouses and that he was supposed to be in quarantine. 

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The United States is under a partial lockdown which means businesses can operate as usual and especially a business like an online delivery platform Amazon, which is supposed to provide people with essential items amid the crisis. The United States has recorded the most number of infections anywhere in the world with over 1,64,400 cases so far. According to data, more than 3,100 people have lost their lives in the country. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

COVID-19 has claimed more than 38,700 lives across the world and has infected more than 7,99,700 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was the most affected country until last week before Italy and Spain surpassed it to record the most number of deaths anywhere in the world due to COVID-19. The United States and France are on the verge of overtaking China in terms of the number of deaths recorded in these countries. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally.

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(Image Credit: AP)