Covid 19 coronavirus: Jeff Bezos visited Amazon site hit by virus

An Amazon associate processes a package at the newest Amazon Robotics fulfillment centre in Orlando. Photo / Getty Images

An Amazon warehouse visited by company owner Jeff Bezos this week has confirmed its first case of Covid-19 - amid growing pressure on the e-commerce titan to strengthen the safety of its workers.

The tech giant this week revealed it is developing its own facilities for testing staff after it came under fire from workers and politicians about its approach to the pandemic.

The Amazon boss has also been touring multiple warehouses this week in an effort to fend off criticism. But just hours after Bezos' tour of a site near Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday, Amazon reported an employee there tested positive for coronavirus. The employee was last at the site on Monday.

It comes as Amazon faces pressure to bolster safety for its warehouse staff who are battling with a surge in orders from people staying at home.

NeedToKnow3

In a blog, Amazon said a team of employees including research scientists and software engineers had "moved from their normal day jobs" to dedicate efforts to building test labs.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo / Getty Images

The company is racing to assemble the necessary equipment to move towards regular testing of all of its 750,000 employees, including "those showing no symptoms".

It hopes to start testing "small numbers of front line employees" soon.