We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Logistics industry counts first deaths from Covid-19

Logistics industry counts first deaths from Covid-19

Workers in “essential” sectors at military depot, grocery stores had been reporting for supply chain jobs despite elevated risk of coronavirus exposure.

face mask virus
April 8, 2020
Ben Ames
No Comments

The first reports of a handful of deaths in supply chain jobs from the Covid-19 disease have begun to emerge this week, even as logistics professionals throughout the industry continue working “essential” shifts in trucks, warehouses, and retail stores, increasing their risk of exposure to coronavirus.

Statistics on coronavirus infections and deaths shift every day, but as of yesterday, the U.S. toll from the pandemic included 396,223 confirmed cases and 12,722 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.

According to published reports, some of that grim tally now involves the deaths of logistics and retail workers, including a civilian employee at a U.S. Army warehouse in Pennsylvania, and four people who worked at grocery stores including Giant Foods in Maryland, Trader Joe’s in New York, and Walmart in Illinois

Many health professionals say that official coronavirus statistics are almost certainly lower than actual conditions, because federal leaders have been slow to implement widespread testing or to correct shortages of test kits. In addition, the few tests that are conducted must be transported to federal offices in Atlanta for confirmation, so results are slow to emerge.

That absence of clear tracking data makes it impossible to say whether the five supply chain victims were exposed to the coronavirus on the job or in their private lives. Indeed, employers in many logistics sectors have provided face masks, antiseptic wipes, sneeze guards, and other protective gear.

But workers at a handful of retail stores and warehouses have recently walked off the job or planned large-scale “sick days” to protest equipment shortages, despite their jobs being qualified as “essential,” as defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

In the Pennsylvania case, the worker was employed at the New Cumberland Army Depot, just outside the state capital of Harrisburg, operated by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Reports say the employee was one of six people who had tested positive for coronavirus as of Monday from the vast, 2000-person facility. The spaces at the site where the person worked have been cleaned to standards indicated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In the grocery cases, the food chains involved have shut down most of the affected stores to apply safety measures such as plexiglass sneeze guards at cash registers, thorough cleaning with a focus on common areas, and signs that limit the number of customers who can shop at one time. The affected stores were located in the New York City suburb of Scarsdale, New York; in Largo, Maryland, just east of Washington, D.C.; and in Evergreen Park, Illinois, just south of Chicago.

* To see further coverage of the coronavirus crisis and how it's affecting the logistics industry, check out our Covid-19 landing page
* And click here for our compilation of virus-focused websites and resource pages from around the supply chain sector.

Business Management & Finance Defense Logistics Disaster Response Coronavirus Coverage
KEYWORDS Defense Logistics Agency
  • Related Articles

    Logistics industry groups keep supply chain moving to aid Covid-19 response

    Logistics firms donate PPE for Chicago health and safety workers—Covid-19 roundup, May 19

    Covid-19 resource hub: Collection of 93 logistics links tracks impact of virus on supply chains

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

Project44 acquires German ocean freight tracking firm

Amazon licenses walk-through store technology to retailers

Conveyor company fought time and weather to open new factory

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • IBM survey says digitalization trends will sweep trucking industry by 2030

  • Gartner survey signals increased investment in resilience over the next two years

  • Truck driver hiring pool tightens to lowest point in three years, ACT says

  • What Level of Automation is Right for Your Warehouse?

  • Growing up … and up and up: interview with Sam Bertram

Now Playing on DCV-TV

D92f0dd1 a98c 434a 9e17 30b63ee72c90

Automated Pack-out and Print-Apply System for thredUP

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
SilMan Industries designed and implemented a mixed polybag-carton system, including automated print and apply, in a new regional Fulfillment Center for thredUP, one of the world’s largest online resale platforms for women’s and kids’ apparel, shoes, and accessories.The Situation Secondhand clothing and online...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Using innovation to manage peak seasonal demand

  • Time to rethink your lift truck power

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

  • Solving Talent Management Challenges Now and In the Future

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing