Jeff Bezos says Amazon working with WHO in battle against coronavirus pandemic
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the e-commerce giant is working directly with the World Health Organization (WHO) in a number of different capacities as the world attempts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
Bezos, who recently wrote a letter to his employees thanking them for their hard work, while noting he is "wholly focused" on the pandemic, said the tech behemoth is providing web support for the organization, helping map the pandemic and "providing logistics support."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Our current work with WHO includes: increasing capacity and security for the WHO website; providing ML [Machine Learning] & AI [Artifical Intelligence] for WHO’s Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources initiative; assisting with the translation and transcription of WHO’s knowledge catalogue; providing logistics support," Bezos wrote on Instagram, noting he recently had a video call with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"We also discussed the urgent need for collective action to produce and distribute plentiful COVID-19 test kits," Bezos added. "A surplus of fast, effective, easy-to-access test kits would flatten the curve and protect people around the world. I told Dr. Tedros we will continue to help WHO in every way we can in the coming weeks and months."
Fox News has reached out to Amazon with a request for comment for this story.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Bezos' letter to his employees, he thanked them for their efforts but also acknowledged the crisis is likely to get worse before it gets better.
"I’m not alone in being grateful for the work you are doing," Bezos wrote in the letter, posted to the company's blog. "I’ve received hundreds of emails from customers and seen posts on social media thanking you all. Your efforts are being noticed at the highest levels of government, and President Trump earlier this week thanked this team profusely."
He continued: "Across the world, people are feeling the economic effects of this crisis, and I’m sad to tell you I predict things are going to get worse before they get better. We’re hiring for 100,000 new roles and raising wages for our hourly workers who are fulfilling orders and delivering to customers during this period of stress and turmoil. At the same time, other businesses like restaurants and bars are being forced to shut their doors. We hope people who’ve been laid off will come work with us until they’re able to go back to the jobs they had."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier this month, Amazon said its Fullfillment by Amazon (FBA) program would partially suspend shipments through April 5 to allow for the tech giant to prioritize products needed for the coronavirus pandemic shaking the globe.
The company also recently announced it would hire an additional 100,000 workers and raise their hourly pay to help with the recent surge in demand due to the pandemic.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Amazon has recently come under scrutiny from politicians who are concerned the company is not doing enough to protect its warehouse workers during the pandemic.
Earlier this month, a group of four U.S. senators, including Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker, D-N.J., wrote a letter to Bezos expressing their concern about the health and safety of Amazon warehouses' workers.
On Wednesday, a worker at the Amazon fulfillment center in Moreno Valley, Calif., tested positive for COVID-19, marking the 10th warehouse to be impacted by the virus, Fox News previously reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As of Friday morning, there have been more than 542,000 reported cases of COVID-19, including at least 85,000 in the U.S., having surpassed Italy and China to become the most affected country in the world.