Amazon says it has already hired over 80,000 people to help meet demand for its services and has spent more than $150 million to support the company's team of associates and partners.

Last Sunday, March 29, the company began temperature checks at select sites around the U.S. in an effort to ensure that Amazon's employees and support staff are healthy when they arrive at work. Anyone registering a temperature over the CDC-recommended 100.4F will be asked to return home and only come back to work after they’ve gone three days without a fever. Accrording to Dave Clark, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations at Amazon, the company is now temperature checking more than 100,000 employees per day. The complete rollout of temperature checks across Amazon's entire U.S. and European operations network and Whole Foods Market stores is expected by early next week.

Clark says that disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer are already standard across Amazon's network, and the procurement teams have worked to create new sources of supply to keep these critical items flowing. Millions of masks ordered weeks ago are now arriving, and Amazon is distributing them to its teams. Masks will be available as soon as today in some locations and in all locations by early next week.

The company is also donating N95 masks it acquires to healthcare workers, as well as selling them at cost through Amazon’s business and government sales program, he said.

Clark’s team has come under fire from U.S. senators and state attorneys general, labor unions and some of his own frontline employees for the company’s response to Covid-19 cases in its warehouses. Critics say Amazon has been slow to inform workers and the public and that the company has sometimes failed to adhere to federal guidance for businesses that stay open during the pandemic.