Coronavirus in US: Amazon employee tests positive in Seattle

Health officials fear virus may have been circulating undetected for weeks

(Getty)

An Amazon employee based in Seattle, Washington, has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The global retail giant said in a memo to staff that the employee, who worked in its office in downtown Seattle, was sent home last Tuesday after feeling unwell. It said the employee had not returned to the office since then.

“We’re supporting the affected employee who is in quarantine,” Amazon told CNBC on Tuesday.

In a memo to staff, it added: “We notified the employees who we know were in close contact with this employee. The risk of transmission for employees who were not in close contact with this individual is assessed to be low.”

Washington state has been the worst-affected place in the US, with 27 confirmed cases of the virus and nine deaths so far.

Researchers believe the virus may have been circulating undetected for weeks in the state, raising fears that there could be hundreds of undiagnosed cases in the area —indeed, the same could be true elsewhere in the US.