A New York Amazon warehouse staffer has become the sixth employee to die of coronavirus during the pandemic.
This comes as Amazon workers demand that the tech company reveal its data on coronavirus infections, deaths and recoveries among staff.
George Leigh, 59, died of coronavirus on April 9 in Long Island after he reportedly began to feel ill in late March.
‘We are saddened by the loss of an associate who had worked at our site in Bethpage, New York. His family and loved ones are in our thoughts,’ said Amazon spokesperson Lisa Levandowski in a statement.
George Leigh (pictured), an Amazon sort associate and learning ambassador, is the sixth employee to die of COVID-19
Pictured: DNY4, an Amazon distribution center in Bethpage, New York, where Georgie Leigh worked before he died on April 9
CNBC News reports that George was a sort associate and learning ambassador at DNY4.
In addition to sorting packages and pallets, George’s job involved training new employees.
It’s unclear when George contracted the virus, but Amazon said he was last inside DNY4, a distribution center in Bethpage, on March 28.
On that day, George told a manager he was feeling tired and ‘needed to go home and rest,’ according to George’s brother, Todd Leigh.
Amazon has disputed that claim and maintained that George never contacted the warehouse to say he felt sick.
George was soon rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center after his symptoms became increasingly severe and he said he couldn’t breath.
He is survived by one daughter, several grandchildren, his sibling and a mother.
Amazon has not revealed how many warehouse employees have died from coronavirus in the United States, but there have been at least five other deaths across the country.
George Leigh,59, is the sixth Amazon employee to die of COVID-19 during the pandemic. Pictured: A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest outside of an Amazon warehouse
Several Amazon warehouse staffers have protested in recent weeks over an alleged lapse in worker safety amid the pandemic
Two were in California, with deaths also in Illinois, New York and Indiana.
The total number of employee infections have also been withheld, prompting Amazon workers to keep an unofficial count of nationwide cases.
It has also sparked a series of protests among staffers who have demanded Amazon implement better safety measures to fight the coronavirus.
Jana Jumpp, an Amazon worker from Indiana who has kept tally of coronavirus cases, said at least 900 employees have contracted the virus. At least 10 had died, she said.
Pressure to reveal the full scope of the coronavirus’s impact on Amazon workers has ratcheted up in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Whole Foods CEO John Mackey were asked by 13 U.S. Senators for a state-by-state breakdown of COVID-19 cases at the companies.
Dave Clark, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Operations, told 60 minutes on Sunday that he did not know the total number of infections at the company.
‘I don’t have the number right on me at this moment because it’s not a particularly useful number,’ he said, adding that infection rates are ‘generally just under’ those found in nearby communities.
Todd Leigh told CNBC News that he doesn’t agree with Clark’s opinion that sharing that data wouldn’t be ‘useful.’
He believed it’s an attempt by Amazon to ‘shirk’ responsibility for any coronavirus-related infections or deaths during the pandemic.
George (pictured) reportedly began feeling ill in late March and asked to leave his shift at Amazon, but the company said he never alerted them of any illness
George (pictured) is survived by one daughter, several grandchildren, his sibling and a mother