Amazon employee in Seattle tests positive for coronavirus



SEATTLE -- A Seattle Amazon employee has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the company said Tuesday.

According to a company email for staff members in Seattle and Bellevue, an employee who worked out of the company's Brazil building off of 9th Street tested positive for Covid-19.

The person went home sick on Feb. 25 and has not been to work since then, according to the email. The company said it notified coworkers who had been in close contact with the person.

An Amazon spokesperson said Tuesday that the company is "supporting the affected employee who is in quarantine."

There are 27 confirmed cases of Covid-19 statewide, including seven new cases announced Tuesday in King County. More than 200 people are under public health supervision.

Washington state was the first state in America to report a death from novel coronavirus. Most of them are linked to a nursing home in Kirkland. There have been eight deaths in King County and one in Snohomish County.

The number of cases is expected to rise daily as more tests are processed, health officials said.

CNN Newsource contributed to this report