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The workers at Amazon’s giant distribution center in Garner have never known a workday without at least some people around them wearing masks.
The center opened last summer just as the coronavirus pandemic was picking up steam. A year later, COVID-19 cases are again beginning to soar, as the delta variant spreads among unvaccinated people.
On Saturday, employees celebrated the facility’s one-year anniversary before and after shifts, under tents set up in the parking lot. Most seemed to be wearing masks, and they all will be starting Monday thanks to Amazon’s reinstated mask requirement.
Amazon employees must wear face masks inside company facilities, regardless of their vaccination status, the company announced Friday.
“To be honest, I’m glad about it,” said Shalina Vennie, who’s been working at the Amazon Distribution Center in Garner since it opened.
“Even though most people have been vaccinated, it’s not a cure,” Vennie said. “So there’s still a possibility of catching COVID.”
She said places opened up too soon and the whole country should’ve stayed shut down with mask mandates in place.
“Just look at the numbers that are spiking now,” Vennie said. “I want everybody to be safe. COVID is scary.”
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been rapidly increasing in North Carolina since the beginning of July, with a recent spike of 4,506 cases reported Friday.
The new rule affects thousands of employees in North Carolina. It was implemented in response to the spread of new COVID-19 variants in the U.S. and guidance from public health officials and Amazon medical experts, according to Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel. Previously, only those not vaccinated against COVID-19 had to wear masks.
Other major retailers and restaurant chains, like Home Depot, McDonald’s and Target, are also requiring masks for employees, whether they’ve been vaccinated or not.
Fully vaccinated employees at the Garner Amazon facility have not been required to wear masks; their vaccination status is validated through an employee portal or a vaccination sticker on their ID badge.
On Saturday, hundreds of employees gathered in the parking lot for the facility’s one-year anniversary party. Many employees were wearing masks outside as they waited in line to pick up food and T-shirts.
Vennie and her husband, Michael Randolph, of Rocky Mount, walked through the crowd Saturday wearing masks with a large banner promoting Amazon’s Black Employee Network.
Randolph said the COVID-19 safety protocols throughout the past year have been phenomenal. He said Amazon quickly informed employees about COVID-19 outbreaks, provided masks and hand sanitizer and offered incentives for employees to get vaccinated.
And now the mask requirement for all employees is coming back.
“It’s better safe than anything,” Randolph said. “Safety is always first.”
Most employees put face masks on as they entered the building for their shifts Saturday and were wearing them as they walked out of the facility.
Linda Morrisey, a packer at Amazon from Fayetteville, said she’s kept her mask on throughout the four months she’s worked there. But not every employee has complied with the rules, she said.
“I just play it safe for myself,” Morrisey said, because she can’t control anybody else.