Doncaster Amazon warehouses bring in anti-coronavirus measures after staff complaints

The internet retail giant says it is introducing coronavirus safety measures for all warehouse workers – after newspapers exposed how the centres had become potential 'hotbeds of contamination'.

It says it will roll out temperature checks and face masks for front-line workers in Europe and the US by early next week.

It will also start monitoring workers to check they are keeping two metres apart.

Amazon's business is booming as shop closures and the lockdown has seen internet shopping surge.

But whistleblowers at two distribution plants said this week that they feared the virus would thrive due to a lack of hand sanitisers and non-enforcement of two-metre social distancing.

A worker at the Doncaster factory, where up to 90 night shift workers sort parcels for delivery, said the lack of space means they have been told to keep just one metre apart from each other – not the two metres recommended by the Government and World Health Organisation (WHO) to stop the spread of the virus.

Amazon denied the claim.

The worker, who wished to be anonymous, told the Daily Mail: 'It's a potential hotbed of contamination. There's no separation, no social distancing. If it spreads around our warehouse it could spread around the whole country on these parcels.'

'Staff are dropping like flies because of illness but anyone who has to go home is mocked by the managers. They are hiring staff from all over to try to plug the gaps but this only increases the chances of spreading it.'

A spokesman said: 'Since the early days of this situation, we have worked closely with local authorities to proactively respond, ensuring we continue to serve customers while taking care of our associates and we're following all guidelines from local officials about the operations of our buildings.

'We have implemented proactive measures at our facilities to protect employees including increased cleaning at all facilities, maintaining social distance in the fulfilment centre and adding distance between drivers and customers when making deliveries.”