According to Reuters, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will request for parliament to extend lockdown measures until April 26.
As of Saturday, Spain’s total death toll rose to 11,744, making..
Studio: Wochit
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Spain Extends Coronavirus Lockdown To April 26
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COVID-19 gender bias: Are men more vulnerable to the virus?
A new study has shown that men are three times more likely to die of coronavirus disease. In China, men account for around two-third (64%) of all deaths. Italy, Spain, South Korea, France and Germany..
Studio: HT Digital Content
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Italian doctor treats coronavirus patients at home
Italian doctor treats coronavirus patients at home
Studio: Euronews English
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Fewer deaths in Veneto offer clues for fight against coronavirus
Experts say divergence between neighbouring northern Italy regions stems from different approaches
Reported by FT.com 1 day ago.
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Coronavirus live updates: US braces for surge in deaths; quiet Palm Sunday for pope; queen to speak
In Italy, Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in an empty St. Peter's Basilica and, in England, Queen Elizabeth II was to address her nation – from isolation.
Reported by USATODAY.com 3 hours ago.
Reported by USATODAY.com 3 hours ago.
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Google is fighting COVID-19 by monitoring location data in 131 countries. It's a reminder of how much info Google has about us and how easily the pandemic could blow up privacy. (GOOG, GOOGL)
· Google is using location data to tell health organizations which global communities are staying at home, and which aren't.· It uses anonymized data taken from smartphones using Google's apps and services.
· The new tool shows how important data can be in efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
· But it also raises some privacy concerns, especially given how how much other data Google has about users of its various services, from Maps to email.
· Verily, the healthtech company owned by Google parent Alphabet, that is providing a site to help people get screened for the coronavirus, is requiring people to sign in with a Google account.
· Google says the data Verily collects is not linked to other Google products. But Google has a history of changing policies about how it handles user data.
· Click here to get BI Prime's weekly 'Trending' tech newsletter in your email inbox.
Google wants to help halt the spread of the coronavirus by harnessing the power of data.
The internet company recently announced that it is using location data gleaned from hundreds of millions of smartphones around the world to give health organizations a window into how communities in 131 different countries are moving.
The COVID-10 Community Mobility Reports website, launched Friday, shows how many people are visiting certain locations like grocery stores and parks. That's important as health organizations try to understand where social distancing is working, and where it isn't.
But the project has raised some concerns. Just how much of our personal data is being collected and shared to create this capability, and is there any reason to worry about our privacy?
First, it's important to clarify what Google says it's doing. The company says the data is taken from all of its location-enabled apps, on both Android and iPhone devices, where the user has opted into sharing their location history – something they must opt into in the settings. The information that Google collects is anonymized and combined, or aggregated, with everyone else's data so as to not include any personally identifiable information.
"No personally identifiable information, such as an individual's location, contacts or movement, will be made available at any point," Google said.
The data, which is published in PDF format by country or region, breaks down mobility trends into categories: retail and recreation spots, grocery and pharmacy stores, parks, transit stations, workplaces, and residential. Google presents this data in percentages rather than offering specific numbers of people in these locations.
Google is also using something called differential privacy, which adds "noise" to the collected data in order to obscure anything that could identify a user.
*The cross-referencing risk*
Even if you accept Google's promise that it will not share users' personal information with anyone, and that the data could not be untangled by a third party, that still leaves the issue of how Google itself might use all this information.
Yes, this is technically data Google already has, explained Hermanshu Nigam, founder and CEO of Cyber Security Affairs. "They're just re-crunching the numbers," he told Business Insider. But there is still a concern that Google might be able to cross-reference this data with other information it collects across its services.
After all, the company doesn't have the best track record of keeping its various buckets separate: In 2016 it changed a policy that previously kept users' browsing history separate from personal information taken from other Google services.
Since the removal of that clause, Google has been able to build detailed ad profiles of its users by mushing all of this data together.
Google also has a history of complying with geofence warrants by giving the police location data that can identify devices in a certain area at a certain time. Such data placed one person at the middle of an investigation this year, who was later cleared.
Plus, right now, Verily, the life sciences division of Alphabet and Google sibling, is making users sign in with a Google account to use its COVID-19 screening service. This has prompted an inquiry from US senators, but at the time of writing the requirement is still in place.
That means Alphabet, Google's parent company, has information on who has screened for COVID-19, and Verily says it may also get access to your test results, should you take one. Verily told Business Insider that all of the data it collects is not linked to Google's other products, but it continues to face probing from lawmakers as to how it will exactly handle it all.
*Google has an amazing amount of information about you*
Consider all the different sources of data that Google could theoretically analyze and connect together as it relates to the coronavirus:
*Maps: *Google Maps stores information on every place you've been. While it isn't precise enough to tell if you've been within six feet of another person, this data could still be used to determine if you traveled through a high-risk location, or if you're out and about during a shelter-in-place.
*Search: *Your stored search history tells Google a lot about you, and is used to inform the way it targets ads across the web. Searches for symptoms, cures and similar will all feed into the big Google brain.
*Android: *Users of Android phones should always be a little more cautious. A research paper published in 2018 found that Android phones send data samples from Google's apps to its servers far more frequently than Google apps on iPhones do. On Android, location settings can be controlled at the device level, while iPhone users will need to change their Google account settings either by going through one of Google's apps or using the web.
*Gmail:* Perhaps your COVID-19 test results were sent to your Gmail account. Your plane tickets from a trip to China or Italy are also in your email. Google doesn't let employees read private emails of course, but its ad technology scans the contents of those messages.
*Verily:* Anyone who uses Verily's COVID-19 screening service must do so with a Google account. Verily says the information isn't shared with other Google services, but this still raises plenty of questions. Verily also says on its website: "Your test results may be provided to Verily and further shared with public health authorities, including the California Department of Public Health, to inform public health actions to help protect our community."
Legally, if Google wants to use the community COVID-19 data in a way that differs from the privacy policies people previously agreed to, it would need to ask for users' permission. So if Google decided it wanted to change the rules, data collected before any changes to the program couldn't be used, Hermanshu Nigam, said.
Still, there's an amazing amount of information that Google has at its disposal. And as we've seen in other countries like Israel, which has allowed the Shin Bet security service to track citizens' movements using technical data from cell phones, existing rules can be legally overridden in extraordinary situations like a pandemic.
And in countries with more authoritarian governments like China, popular commercial apps like Alipay and WeChat are now being used to assign citizens with special color codes based on their health status. Each individual's color determines their freedom of personal movement. While that level of control is unlikely to occur in the US, it shows how easily today's data-powered consumer technology can be turned into restrictive tools in the name of fighting the virus.
*What happens when this is all over?*
Another potential concern is what happens once the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Does Google continue to offer its anonymized "community mobility reports" to governments and health organizations when there's less of a need for it?
That's the kind of mission creep that privacy experts have long warned about in the policy realm, with surveillance to deter terrorism or drug trafficking gradually becoming the norm and outliving the initial objective.
Of course, it's also possible that after the pandemic, society will have much different opinions about privacy, perhaps seeing a need to trade away certain expectations of privacy in order to more effectively fight pandemics.
Lydia Clougherty Jones, a senior director at analyst at Gartner focusing on privacy, raises an interesting question: whether community-based data collection like Google's during the COVID-19 pandemic could expand our notions of what should be protected, and what shouldn't, in the future.
"I think the aggregated data is informing policy because it's helping states move to a more robust shelter in place order, if that's what is required for the community. But it's based on community data, not individual data, so when the crisis is over it remains to be seen if the need for such aggregated data will still exist.
"Right now privacy is about individual data, and this location tracking is about community data. If we're being compared to other locations, does that impact our identity? Will we start to look at privacy at an aggregate level, say NY vs Florida? There are tensions between locations being driven by the privacy debate."
*SEE ALSO: 30 startups creating the future of work that will prosper in 2020, according to VCs*
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Apple just revealed its AirPods Pro for $249, which feature noise cancellation. Here's everything that was wrong with the $159 pair of the wireless headphones. Reported by Business Insider 20 hours ago.
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Seafood industry struggling to stay afloat amid outbreak
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The seafood industry has been upended by the spread of the coronavirus, which has halted sales in restaurants and sent fishermen and dealers scrambling for new markets.
Seafood is a global industry that relies on a complex network of fishermen, processors, buyers and distributors, all of which have been affected by the virus. A lack of demand has sent prices tumbling and led some fishermen to tie up their boats until the outbreak subsides.
Members of the U.S. seafood industry are calling on the Trump administration and Congress to help them weather the uncertain time. But for now, the market for big-money items such as scallops and lobster is “pretty much nonexistent,” said Bert Jongerden, general manager of the Portland Fish Exchange, a Maine auction house.
The auction house usually moves up to 60,000 pounds (27,215 kilograms) of fish in a week but is down to less than a third of that, Jongerden said.
“Heard some stories with people coming in with lobsters saying dealers wouldn’t take them,” Jongerden said. “And we don’t have a lot of fish.”
Shelter-in-place rules and closures have kept customers out of restaurants, where seafood typically fetches high prices. The worldwide shipping industry has also slowed considerably, in part because major markets like China, Italy and Spain have been hit especially hard.
The result has been plummeting wholesale prices. The wholesale price for live 1.25-pound (570-gram) lobsters in March was 33% under 2018 levels, according to business publisher Urner Barry. A ripple effect has been a slowdown in distribution, processing and the most important piece of the supply chain — fishing.
The industry could further suffer from economic slowdown, said industry analyst John Sackton, publisher of... Reported by SeattlePI.com 21 hours ago.
Seafood is a global industry that relies on a complex network of fishermen, processors, buyers and distributors, all of which have been affected by the virus. A lack of demand has sent prices tumbling and led some fishermen to tie up their boats until the outbreak subsides.
Members of the U.S. seafood industry are calling on the Trump administration and Congress to help them weather the uncertain time. But for now, the market for big-money items such as scallops and lobster is “pretty much nonexistent,” said Bert Jongerden, general manager of the Portland Fish Exchange, a Maine auction house.
The auction house usually moves up to 60,000 pounds (27,215 kilograms) of fish in a week but is down to less than a third of that, Jongerden said.
“Heard some stories with people coming in with lobsters saying dealers wouldn’t take them,” Jongerden said. “And we don’t have a lot of fish.”
Shelter-in-place rules and closures have kept customers out of restaurants, where seafood typically fetches high prices. The worldwide shipping industry has also slowed considerably, in part because major markets like China, Italy and Spain have been hit especially hard.
The result has been plummeting wholesale prices. The wholesale price for live 1.25-pound (570-gram) lobsters in March was 33% under 2018 levels, according to business publisher Urner Barry. A ripple effect has been a slowdown in distribution, processing and the most important piece of the supply chain — fishing.
The industry could further suffer from economic slowdown, said industry analyst John Sackton, publisher of... Reported by SeattlePI.com 21 hours ago.
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A warning from Italy on coronavirus
Italian doctors who fought the pandemic of COVID-19 and have seen its devastating toll talk with Seth Doane about the imperative for Americans to prepare, and how time wasted has left their country, and ours, scrambling to respond.
Reported by CBS News 20 hours ago.
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What lessons can Italy teach the U.S. about the coronavirus?
Italian doctors who have fought the pandemic talk about the importance of wasting no time in preparing for the effects on hospitals of an overwhelming abundance of COVID-19 patients
Reported by CBS News 20 hours ago.
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U.S. 'wasted' months before preparing for virus pandemic
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China might ignite a global pandemic, the Trump administration squandered nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment.
A review of federal purchasing contracts by The Associated Press shows federal agencies waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators and other equipment needed by front-line health care workers.
By that time, hospitals in several states were treating thousands of infected patients without adequate equipment and were pleading for shipments from the Strategic National Stockpile. That federal cache of supplies was created more than 20 years ago to help bridge gaps in the medical and pharmaceutical supply chains during a national emergency.
Now, three months into the crisis, that stockpile is nearly drained just as the numbers of patients needing critical care is surging. Some state and local officials report receiving broken ventilators and decade-old dry-rotted masks.
“We basically wasted two months,” Kathleen Sebelius, health and human services secretary during the Obama administration, told AP.
As early as mid-January, U.S. officials could see that hospitals in China's Hubei province were overwhelmed with infected patients, with many left dependent on ventilator machines to breathe. Italy soon followed, with hospitals scrambling for doctors, beds and equipment.
HHS did not respond to questions about why federal officials waited to order medical supplies until stocks were running critically low. But President Donald Trump has asserted that the federal government should take a back seat to states when it... Reported by SeattlePI.com 20 hours ago.
A review of federal purchasing contracts by The Associated Press shows federal agencies waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators and other equipment needed by front-line health care workers.
By that time, hospitals in several states were treating thousands of infected patients without adequate equipment and were pleading for shipments from the Strategic National Stockpile. That federal cache of supplies was created more than 20 years ago to help bridge gaps in the medical and pharmaceutical supply chains during a national emergency.
Now, three months into the crisis, that stockpile is nearly drained just as the numbers of patients needing critical care is surging. Some state and local officials report receiving broken ventilators and decade-old dry-rotted masks.
“We basically wasted two months,” Kathleen Sebelius, health and human services secretary during the Obama administration, told AP.
As early as mid-January, U.S. officials could see that hospitals in China's Hubei province were overwhelmed with infected patients, with many left dependent on ventilator machines to breathe. Italy soon followed, with hospitals scrambling for doctors, beds and equipment.
HHS did not respond to questions about why federal officials waited to order medical supplies until stocks were running critically low. But President Donald Trump has asserted that the federal government should take a back seat to states when it... Reported by SeattlePI.com 20 hours ago.
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Palm Sunday: Pope celebrates without public in St. Peter's
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass without the public because of the coronavirus pandemic, which he said should focus people's attention on what's most important, despite heavy hearts — using one's life to serve others.
Looking pensive and sounding subdued, Francis led the first of several solemn Holy Week ceremonies that will shut out rank-and-file faithful from attending, as Italy's rigid lockdown measures forbid public gatherings.
Normally, tens of thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims, clutching olive tree branches or palm fronds would have flocked to an outdoor Mass led by the pontiff. Instead, Francis celebrated Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, which seemed even more cavernous than usual because it was so empty.
Besides his aides, a few invited prelates, nuns and laypeople were present, sitting solo in the first pews and staggered far apart to reduce the risks of contagion. A male choir, also practicising social distancing, sang hymns, accompanied by an organist.
Wearing red robes to symbolize the blood shed by Jesus in the hours of his crucifix, Francis blessed braided palms.
“Today, in the tragedy of a pandemic, in the face of the many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us: ‘Courage, open your heart to my love,'” Francis said.
Francis urged people to hold fast to “what really matters in our lives.”
“The tragedy we are experiencing summons us to take seriously the things that are serious, and not to be caught up in those that matter less, to rediscover that life is of no use if not used to serve others," the pontiff said in his homily.
In a remark directed to young people, Francis... Reported by SeattlePI.com 20 hours ago.
Looking pensive and sounding subdued, Francis led the first of several solemn Holy Week ceremonies that will shut out rank-and-file faithful from attending, as Italy's rigid lockdown measures forbid public gatherings.
Normally, tens of thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims, clutching olive tree branches or palm fronds would have flocked to an outdoor Mass led by the pontiff. Instead, Francis celebrated Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, which seemed even more cavernous than usual because it was so empty.
Besides his aides, a few invited prelates, nuns and laypeople were present, sitting solo in the first pews and staggered far apart to reduce the risks of contagion. A male choir, also practicising social distancing, sang hymns, accompanied by an organist.
Wearing red robes to symbolize the blood shed by Jesus in the hours of his crucifix, Francis blessed braided palms.
“Today, in the tragedy of a pandemic, in the face of the many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us: ‘Courage, open your heart to my love,'” Francis said.
Francis urged people to hold fast to “what really matters in our lives.”
“The tragedy we are experiencing summons us to take seriously the things that are serious, and not to be caught up in those that matter less, to rediscover that life is of no use if not used to serve others," the pontiff said in his homily.
In a remark directed to young people, Francis... Reported by SeattlePI.com 20 hours ago.
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Italy reports lowest daily coronavirus fatalities since March 19
Italy reported the lowest single-day coronavirus deaths in 2 1/2 weeks, even as the northern Lombardy region around Milan announced tougher containment measures for the weeks ahead. Fatalities fell on Sunday to 525, the lowest since March 19, bringing the total since the beginning of the outbreak in Italy to 15,887. New confirmed cases totaled […]
Reported by Seattle Times 16 hours ago.
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Europe sees more signs of hope as Italy’s virus curve falls
ROME (AP) — Europe is seeing further signs of hope in the coronavirus outbreak as Italy’s daily death toll was at its lowest in more than two weeks and health officials noted with caution Sunday that the infection curve was finally descending. In Spain, new deaths dropped for the third straight day, But the optimism […]
Reported by Seattle Times 16 hours ago.
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Europe sees more signs of hope as Italy's virus curve falls
ROME (AP) — Europe is seeing further signs of hope in the coronavirus outbreak as Italy's daily death toll was at its lowest in more than two weeks and health officials noted with caution Sunday that the infection curve was finally descending. In Spain, new deaths dropped for the third straight day,
But the optimism was tempered by Britain's jump in coronavirus deaths that outpaced the daily toll in Italy.
Angelo Borrelli, the head of Italy's Civil Protection agency on Sunday, said there were 525 deaths in the 24-hour period since Saturday evening. That’s the lowest such figure in the country since 427 deaths were registered on March 19.
Italy now has a total of 15,887 deaths and nearly 129,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
A day shy of one month under a national lockdown that the Italian government ordered, the lower count of day-to-day deaths brought some encouragement.
The number of intensive care unit beds occupied by COVID-19 patients has also showed a decrease in the last few days, including in northern Lombardy, Italy’s most stricken region.
Borrelli also noted with a measure of satisfaction that the number of those hospitalized but not in ICU beds also has decreased.
Italy recorded 4,316 new cases Sunday. Earlier in the outbreak, daily increases in caseloads topped the 6,000 mark.
“The curve, which had been plateauing for days, is starting to descend,″ national health official Silvio Brusaferro told reporters, referring to graphs indicating daily numbers of confirmed cases.
But Borrelli warned: “This good news shouldn’t make us drop our guard."
For days, anticipating a possible downward slope in the curve, government and health authorities in Italy have cautioned that restrictions on movement would likely last in some form for weeks.
The virus... Reported by SeattlePI.com 16 hours ago.
But the optimism was tempered by Britain's jump in coronavirus deaths that outpaced the daily toll in Italy.
Angelo Borrelli, the head of Italy's Civil Protection agency on Sunday, said there were 525 deaths in the 24-hour period since Saturday evening. That’s the lowest such figure in the country since 427 deaths were registered on March 19.
Italy now has a total of 15,887 deaths and nearly 129,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
A day shy of one month under a national lockdown that the Italian government ordered, the lower count of day-to-day deaths brought some encouragement.
The number of intensive care unit beds occupied by COVID-19 patients has also showed a decrease in the last few days, including in northern Lombardy, Italy’s most stricken region.
Borrelli also noted with a measure of satisfaction that the number of those hospitalized but not in ICU beds also has decreased.
Italy recorded 4,316 new cases Sunday. Earlier in the outbreak, daily increases in caseloads topped the 6,000 mark.
“The curve, which had been plateauing for days, is starting to descend,″ national health official Silvio Brusaferro told reporters, referring to graphs indicating daily numbers of confirmed cases.
But Borrelli warned: “This good news shouldn’t make us drop our guard."
For days, anticipating a possible downward slope in the curve, government and health authorities in Italy have cautioned that restrictions on movement would likely last in some form for weeks.
The virus... Reported by SeattlePI.com 16 hours ago.
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Big media companies see boost in audience, but it may not last
The more people stay home to avoid the coronavirus pandemic, the more they find themselves glued to their screens.
In South Korea, as the number of cases grew, television watching shot up 17%, according to Nielsen. Last month in Italy, the size of the TV audience increased by 6.5%, with a 12% rise in hard-hit Lombardy.
In the Seattle area, total television use increased 22% on March 11, compared with the week before, according to Nielsen. In New York that same day, as more people started working from home, use went up 8%. (Total use, as defined by Nielsen, includes live television, on-demand viewing, streaming and gaming.)
But for media companies, the benefit of having a bigger-than-usual audience may be short-lived, because the outbreak threatens to undercut the very structure of their business. With businesses laying off workers and analysts warning of a recession as global economies slow, a significant number of viewers may decide in the coming months to break away from cable or cut back on streaming subscriptions.
The gain in audience size “will be replaced pretty quickly by the necessity of reducing monthly bills, when people will have to deal with the financial impacts of a recession,” said Craig Moffett, a co-founder of research firm MoffettNathanson. “Cord cutting will accelerate with a vengeance.”
The Walt Disney Co., ViacomCBS and other media giants face a pivotal moment as the delicate balance that protects their business — live content tied to high-cost subscriptions — erodes even faster. It started with the sudden disappearance of a dependable asset: sports programming.
Live sports coverage generates billions of advertising dollars and fuels television subscriptions — a combination that delivers fat profits. But leagues have canceled or postponed their seasons, NCAA’s March tournament... Reported by SFGate 14 hours ago.
In South Korea, as the number of cases grew, television watching shot up 17%, according to Nielsen. Last month in Italy, the size of the TV audience increased by 6.5%, with a 12% rise in hard-hit Lombardy.
In the Seattle area, total television use increased 22% on March 11, compared with the week before, according to Nielsen. In New York that same day, as more people started working from home, use went up 8%. (Total use, as defined by Nielsen, includes live television, on-demand viewing, streaming and gaming.)
But for media companies, the benefit of having a bigger-than-usual audience may be short-lived, because the outbreak threatens to undercut the very structure of their business. With businesses laying off workers and analysts warning of a recession as global economies slow, a significant number of viewers may decide in the coming months to break away from cable or cut back on streaming subscriptions.
The gain in audience size “will be replaced pretty quickly by the necessity of reducing monthly bills, when people will have to deal with the financial impacts of a recession,” said Craig Moffett, a co-founder of research firm MoffettNathanson. “Cord cutting will accelerate with a vengeance.”
The Walt Disney Co., ViacomCBS and other media giants face a pivotal moment as the delicate balance that protects their business — live content tied to high-cost subscriptions — erodes even faster. It started with the sudden disappearance of a dependable asset: sports programming.
Live sports coverage generates billions of advertising dollars and fuels television subscriptions — a combination that delivers fat profits. But leagues have canceled or postponed their seasons, NCAA’s March tournament... Reported by SFGate 14 hours ago.
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Europe Sees More Signs of Hope as Italy’s COVID-19 Curve Falls
Reported by TIME 14 hours ago.
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Sex toys, video games, and dolls: Amazon workers claim the company is still sending out whatever customers order despite pledges to prioritize essential goods
· On March 17, Amazon announced that it would only accept orders for goods such as medical and sanitation supplies, and other high-demand products amid the global coronavirus outbreaks. · Amazon said claimed it would only deliver essential items in Italy and France, regardless of what it had in stock.
· However, Amazon workers at facilities across the US claim that the e-commerce giant is continuing to deliver non-essential items, like nipple clamps, Nintendo Switches, and home hand spa stations.
· In response, Amazon told Business Insider that it is "focused on stocking and delivering items that are a higher priority for our customers, including household staples, sanitizers, baby formula, and medical supplies."
· Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
As businesses close their doors and risk financial ruin to help curb spread the of the coronavirus, Amazon has maintained operation, saying it is "working around the clock to ensure we continue to provide essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic."
However, several Amazon workers who work at various facilities across the nation say they're putting their lives at risk to fulfill orders that are far from "essential."
"We're creating more disaster than we're helping. There's nothing on our truck that is essential," Kathy Knight, a driver lead for Amazon in Pennsylvania, told Business Insider. "I mean, my life is essential — but there's nothing else on that truck that is."
*Amazon continues to ship out various non-essential items, including nipple clamps, dollhouses, and home hand spas*
On March 17, Amazon announced to its vendors that it would be prioritizing "essential goods" such as household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products amid the global coronavirus outbreaks. Days later, the company claimed that it would only deliver essential items in Italy in France, where many residents have been under strict lockdowns for over a month, to "to respect anti-coronavirus safety measures in the workplaces," Reuters reported.
Kristen Kish, a spokesperson for Amazon, told Business Insider that Amazon "continues to remain focused on stocking and delivering items that are a higher priority for our customers, including household staples, sanitizers, baby formula, and medical supplies."
However, several employees who work across various stages of Amazon's fulfillment process — from intaking products from vendors to packaging orders to ship out to customers, and delivering boxes to their doors — told Business Insider that the company is continuing to deliver most of what customers orders despite their pledges to focus on essential services.
One inbound associate from Houston, Texas, recalled scanning in rhinestones, keto diet food, and dog brushes from vendors as recent as last week.
"But from what I can see on my end, I'm not seeing the essentials. I don't see paper towels, or clorox wipes, or bleach," she said.
While packaging items to be sent out to customers, two outbound associates — one in Phoenix, Arizona, and another in Hazleton, Pennsylvania — both reported sorting through various sex toys such as nipple clamps and dildos and sending out items like sunglasses. One Amazon customer had recently ordered 392 different kinds of nipple clamps, a worker said.
A Phoenix, Arizona associate expressed frustration after packaging nipple clamps and sunglasses to send out to customers, even as a nearby building confirmed an employee had tested positive for the coronavirus.
"We're not only sending out essential items to customers, but we're sending stupid stuff like sex toys — it doesn't make sense to send that type of stuff out to people," the associate in Arizona who wished to remain anonymous told Business Insider.
Knight, an Amazon driver who makes anywhere from 150 to 190 stops a day to deliver as many as 300 packages in Pennsylvania, began taking note of the items she was delivering after Amazon announced it would be prioritizing critical items.
"In one day, I had a home hand spa, glittery girl dolls, a dollhouse, Xbox games, and racecar tracks," the 47-year-old told Business Insider, noting that she had not included several days after the announcement to account for orders that had already been placed prior to the March 17 announcement.
In the time since Amazon's announcement that it would be prioritizing delivering essential products, she said she hadn't delivered medical supplies, groceries, or household cleaning supplies. The last "essential" items she delivered were bulk orders of toilet paper rolls, she said, as people began to hoard the paper product in the early days of the outbreak.
But, she says what really set her off was delivering ping pong paddles in a wealthy neighborhood.
"I'm like, 'Are you serious?' I am coming out here and risking my life for seeing taking this home to my children and my boyfriend. So you can have ping pong paddle?" she said.
Soon after, Knight told her boss that she would no longer be delivering packages for Amazon for the time being. Her 22-year-old son, who also worked as an Amazon driver, began experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 after delivering boxes to a local hospital. She claimed she no longer wanted to risk spreading the virus across her community any longer.
*Amazon publicly lauds its warehouse workers as "heroes"— but they feel that the company is unnecessarily putting their life at risk *
Medical personnel, emergency responders, and grocery store workers are among the essential workers putting their lives at risk to battle the coronavirus outbreak. Amazon considered its e-commerce services among those heroically operating amid these tumultuous times.
"Our employees are heroes fighting for their communities and helping people get critical items they need in this crisis," a Kristen Kish, a spokesperson for Amazon told Business Insider. "We have nearly 500,000 people in the U.S. alone supporting customers and we are taking measures to support each one."
However, warehouse employees executing those services feel that Amazon is not doing enough to protect its workers, or the larger community from being exposed to the coronavirus.
"They call us heroes in the media but treat us like freed slaves that have no other choice to work for the same master for little pay and same crappy conditions," an employee from Arizona told Business Insider.
With hundreds or even thousands of workers packed into a warehouse at a time — rendering social distancing measures "impossible"— and a scarce supply of hand sanitizers and cleaning products, employees called Amazon facilities a "breeding ground" for coronavirus infection.
And, despite having confirmed COVID-19 cases at several warehouses, they claim that management refused to temporarily close down their locations to clean the entire facility despite employee requests.
"I'm really confused on why we're even being asked to work. Amazon doesn't have with the people need," the Houston warehouse worker claimed, adding that she has not processed toilet paper, cleaning supplies, or other "essential items" that the e-commerce giant claimed to be prioritizing.
"Essentials aren't really available in the warehouse," she added.
An Amazon employee who works in vendor returns said her department was continuing to process returns — a job she and her colleagues did not consider critical amid the outbreak. However, she and about 1,100 other employees continue to cram into a building in Lexington, Kentucky to continue this "non-essential service."
"We are not providing any life-sustaining services right now we are simply taking in returns and at this particular time I can't imagine anybody that wants to go process or return right now outside of their home," the employee told Business Insider.
The employee in Pennsylvania claimed that she was not notified as an associate fulfilling customer order that Amazon was "prioritizing actual essential items."
"If they say they changed the policy, they haven't — they're shipping everything as it comes," Dominica Mercuri, a warehouse associate in Pennsylvania, told Business Insider.
As far as she knew, Amazon was "still trying to even keep their two-day promise to our Prime members whenever they can," she said.
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NOW WATCH: 8 weird robots NASA wants to send to space Reported by Business Insider 12 hours ago.
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Coronavirus: Quarantined Italian village turned into human laboratory
Could a tiny hilltop village in Italy help us solve some of the mysteries around coronavirus?
Reported by BBC News 3 hours ago.
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What you need to know today about the virus outbreak
Federal officials waited to order medical supplies until stocks in the U.S. were running critically low as the new coronavirus spread across the country. A review of federal purchasing contracts by The Associated Press shows federal agencies waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators and other equipment urgently needed by front-line health care workers.
Queen Elizabeth II appealed to Britons to exercise self-discipline in “an increasingly challenging time” as the country saw a record 24-hour jump in coronavirus deaths.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 10 days after his COVID-19 diagnosis, was admitted to a London hospital for tests and remains in charge of government. His office says that “precautionary step” was taken because he is still suffering symptoms.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned Americans that this week is going to be “the hardest and the saddest" since the coronavirus struck the country. And the government’s top infectious disease expert says there is a very good chance the new coronavirus “will assume a seasonal nature,” meaning the U.S. could see the “beginning of a resurgence” during the next flu season.
Europe's hardest-hit country is finally seeing a sign of hope: Italy’s daily death toll was at its lowest in more than two weeks and health officials noted with caution Sunday that the infection curve was finally descending.
Here are some of AP’s top stories Sunday on the coronavirus pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates through the day and APNews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak for stories explaining some of its complexities.
WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
— Home testing for the new coronavirus may sound like a good idea, but U.S. regulators say... Reported by SeattlePI.com 10 hours ago.
Queen Elizabeth II appealed to Britons to exercise self-discipline in “an increasingly challenging time” as the country saw a record 24-hour jump in coronavirus deaths.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 10 days after his COVID-19 diagnosis, was admitted to a London hospital for tests and remains in charge of government. His office says that “precautionary step” was taken because he is still suffering symptoms.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned Americans that this week is going to be “the hardest and the saddest" since the coronavirus struck the country. And the government’s top infectious disease expert says there is a very good chance the new coronavirus “will assume a seasonal nature,” meaning the U.S. could see the “beginning of a resurgence” during the next flu season.
Europe's hardest-hit country is finally seeing a sign of hope: Italy’s daily death toll was at its lowest in more than two weeks and health officials noted with caution Sunday that the infection curve was finally descending.
Here are some of AP’s top stories Sunday on the coronavirus pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates through the day and APNews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak for stories explaining some of its complexities.
WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
— Home testing for the new coronavirus may sound like a good idea, but U.S. regulators say... Reported by SeattlePI.com 10 hours ago.
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COVID-19: US President Donald Trump predicts 'a lot of death'
US President Donald Trump has warned Americans to prepare for the 'toughest week' of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic yet, predicting a surge in deaths. At his daily briefing, Mr Trump said 'there will be death' in a grim assessment of the days ahead.
He sought to reassure the worst-hit states, promising medical supplies and military personnel to combat the virus. But in contrast to his warning, Mr Trump suggested easing social-distancing guidelines for Easter.
"We have to open our country again," Mr Trump told a news conference at the White House on Saturday. "We don't want to be doing this for months and months and months."
Trump's calls to relax restrictions came on the day confirmed Coronavirus infections in the US surpassed 3,00,000, the highest number in the world. As of Saturday, there were almost 8,500 deaths from Covid-19 in the US, with most in New York state.
New York state recorded 630 more deaths, another daily record that takes its toll to 3,565. The state now has almost as many cases — more than 113,000 — as the whole of Italy, one of the countries worst-hit by Coronavirus. The military personnel will 'soon' be advised of their assignments, he said, adding that "1,000 military personnel" were being deployed to New York City.
Trump also addressed his use of the Defence Production Act, a Korean-War-era law that gives him powers to control the production and supply of US-made medical products. He said he was "very disappointed" with 3M, a US company that makes face masks, saying it "should be taking care of our country" instead of selling to others.
*8,500 - *Total no. of deaths in the US
*1,13,704 - *Total Coronavirus cases in New York state
*Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. **Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates*
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Reported by Mid-Day 7 hours ago.
He sought to reassure the worst-hit states, promising medical supplies and military personnel to combat the virus. But in contrast to his warning, Mr Trump suggested easing social-distancing guidelines for Easter.
"We have to open our country again," Mr Trump told a news conference at the White House on Saturday. "We don't want to be doing this for months and months and months."
Trump's calls to relax restrictions came on the day confirmed Coronavirus infections in the US surpassed 3,00,000, the highest number in the world. As of Saturday, there were almost 8,500 deaths from Covid-19 in the US, with most in New York state.
New York state recorded 630 more deaths, another daily record that takes its toll to 3,565. The state now has almost as many cases — more than 113,000 — as the whole of Italy, one of the countries worst-hit by Coronavirus. The military personnel will 'soon' be advised of their assignments, he said, adding that "1,000 military personnel" were being deployed to New York City.
Trump also addressed his use of the Defence Production Act, a Korean-War-era law that gives him powers to control the production and supply of US-made medical products. He said he was "very disappointed" with 3M, a US company that makes face masks, saying it "should be taking care of our country" instead of selling to others.
*8,500 - *Total no. of deaths in the US
*1,13,704 - *Total Coronavirus cases in New York state
*Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. **Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates*
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Reported by Mid-Day 7 hours ago.
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