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I doubt Amazon warehouses represent a significant transmission vector and what little threat there may be is largely outweighed by the good these warehouses are

I doubt Amazon warehouses represent a significant transmission vector and what little threat there may be is largely outweighed by the good these warehouses are doing to help with the situation. I also doubt Amazon employs many elderly or high-risk individuals as warehouse workers. I also doubt they would refuse to make exceptions for those workers. Right about now, I'd just be happy for the job security because the coming recession is going to be rough.

clawedjird 7y ago
What job security? If a drawn out recession develops and is truly “rough,” warehouse workers will simply be let go. There are few jobs with less job security than warehouse work.
- huffmsa 7y ago
  Amazon's delivery network is almost to the point of being a public utility. It's not going anywhere.
  - dzamie 7y ago
    Yes, that means that "Amazon delivery person" is a job that will continue existing. It does not mean it will have the same person in it.
crooked-v 7y ago
> I doubt Amazon warehouses represent a significant transmission vector Well, we know that COVID-19 can survive up to 24 hours on cardboard. That actually gives a simple way to avoid outgoing spread: make sure items don't begin shipping, or don't leave the truck, for at least 30 hours from packaging. It means no 2-day shipping, but I think even "fast" shipping times are at something like a week for most people right now, so that's not much of a problem.
- djannzjkzxn 7y ago
  Everything I’m buying on Amazon now has delivery dates four days or more out, whereas in normal times it’s one or two days. Maybe they are quarantining packages. Or they could just be backed up due to increased demand.
- djsumdog 7y ago
  > Well, we know that COVID-19 can survive up to 24 hours on cardboard Do you have a source for that? Nicholas Christakis (John Hopkins MD, infectious disease specialist) said on most surfaces, SARS-cov2 (the virus, COVID-19 is the disease) can survive an hour. He did mention it depends on the environment (it would only survive a few minutes on copper surfaces for example), so is cardboard able to hold the virus along longer? Is there data on this?
  - jszymborski 7y ago
    I think we just don't know yet. The WHO has this to say: "It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment). If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with simple disinfectant to kill the virus and protect yourself and others. Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose." https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
  - crooked-v 7y ago
    https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-survive-plastic-cardboard-air-1492489 https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-survive-plastic-cardboa... > and can survive on cardboard for a day—up to 24 hours—post-contamination. And the actual paper: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217v1.full.pdf https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217v...
  - asalahli 7y ago
krapp 7y ago
>I also doubt Amazon employs many elderly or high-risk individuals as warehouse workers. Amazon employs lots of elderly individuals in their warehouses, if over 40 counts as elderly. I've seen people at the warehouse where I work who look over 50. >I also doubt Amazon employs many elderly or high-risk individuals as warehouse workers. Amazon all but takes pride in refusing to make exceptions for anyone unless there is a doctor's form involved or the law requires them to.

clawedjird 7y ago

What job security? If a drawn out recession develops and is truly “rough,” warehouse workers will simply be let go. There are few jobs with less job security than warehouse work.

huffmsa 7y ago
Amazon's delivery network is almost to the point of being a public utility. It's not going anywhere.
- dzamie 7y ago
  Yes, that means that "Amazon delivery person" is a job that will continue existing. It does not mean it will have the same person in it.

crooked-v 7y ago

> I doubt Amazon warehouses represent a significant transmission vector Well, we know that COVID-19 can survive up to 24 hours on cardboard. That actually gives a simple way to avoid outgoing spread: make sure items don't begin shipping, or don't leave the truck, for at least 30 hours from packaging. It means no 2-day shipping, but I think even "fast" shipping times are at something like a week for most people right now, so that's not much of a problem.

djannzjkzxn 7y ago
Everything I’m buying on Amazon now has delivery dates four days or more out, whereas in normal times it’s one or two days. Maybe they are quarantining packages. Or they could just be backed up due to increased demand.
djsumdog 7y ago
> Well, we know that COVID-19 can survive up to 24 hours on cardboard Do you have a source for that? Nicholas Christakis (John Hopkins MD, infectious disease specialist) said on most surfaces, SARS-cov2 (the virus, COVID-19 is the disease) can survive an hour. He did mention it depends on the environment (it would only survive a few minutes on copper surfaces for example), so is cardboard able to hold the virus along longer? Is there data on this?
- jszymborski 7y ago
  I think we just don't know yet. The WHO has this to say: "It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment). If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with simple disinfectant to kill the virus and protect yourself and others. Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose." https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
- crooked-v 7y ago
  https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-survive-plastic-cardboard-air-1492489 https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-survive-plastic-cardboa... > and can survive on cardboard for a day—up to 24 hours—post-contamination. And the actual paper: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217v1.full.pdf https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217v...
- asalahli 7y ago

krapp 7y ago

>I also doubt Amazon employs many elderly or high-risk individuals as warehouse workers. Amazon employs lots of elderly individuals in their warehouses, if over 40 counts as elderly. I've seen people at the warehouse where I work who look over 50. >I also doubt Amazon employs many elderly or high-risk individuals as warehouse workers. Amazon all but takes pride in refusing to make exceptions for anyone unless there is a doctor's form involved or the law requires them to.