An Amazon employee in Seattle tested positive for coronavirus, the company said in an email to employees

amazon seattle

An employee at Amazon in Seattle, Washington, has tested positive for coronavirus, the company said in an email to employees.
The company confirmed the case on Tuesday and said the individual was now under quarantine.
News of the Seattle employee's COVID-19 case comes days after two Amazon employees in Milan, Italy tested positive for coronavirus.
The US has reported at least 120 cases of coronavirus — including nine deaths in Washington state.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Amazon announced on Tuesday that one of its employees in Seattle, Washington, tested positive for coronavirus.

In an email to employees in Seattle and Bellevue, Amazon's health and safety office confirmed that an employee of the company's Brazil office building, which is part of the South Lake Union Campus in Seattle, had contracted the virus.

"The employee went home feeling unwell on Tuesday, February 25 and has not entered Amazon offices since then," the email said. The company said they were informed that the employee tested positive for COVID-19 — the disease caused by coronavirus — on March 3.

The employee remains in quarantine, the email wrote, and employees who were in close contact with the person were notified.

"The risk of transmission for employees who were not in close contact with this individual is assessed to be low," the email said.

News of the Seattle employee's COVID-19 case comes days after two Amazon employees in Milan, Italy, tested positive for coronavirus. According to Reuters, the two individuals are under quarantine and are being supported by the company through their treatment.

Last week, Amazon asked all of its 798,000 employees to stop non-essential travel inside the US and abroad. The company also placed restrictions on its employees from traveling to and from China in January.

Other tech companies, like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, have also put strict travel guidance in place.

While a vast majority of coronavirus cases have been confirmed in China, the US has reported at least 120 cases, including 45 passengers who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Japan. The country has confirmed nine coronavirus deaths, all in Washington state. The coronavirus has killed over 3,100, with nearly 93,000 people infected.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Most maps of Louisiana aren't entirely right. Here's what the state really looks like.