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Amazon U.S. Prioritizes Household, Medical Supplies Over Other Items Until April 5

ANN confirmed on Tuesday that Amazon's suppliers, including anime and manga companies, received a message stating that it is prioritizing the restocking, fulfillment, and shipping of "household staples, medical supplies, and other high demand products" until April 5 in light of the spread of the new coronavirus disease COVID-19. Amazon has temporarily halted ordering for products other than those listed above.

Amazon has extended the delivery and shipment windows for existing orders for companies providing other products, including anime, manga, and games.

Additionally, Amazon announced on Monday that it is opening 100,000 new full- and part-time positions at fulfillment centers throughout the United States. The company is aiming to "meet the surge in demand from people relying on Amazon's service during this stressful time, particularly those most vulnerable to being out in public."

The first reported cases of COVID-19 were in Wuhan, China in December, and then the disease began to spread in varying rates and intensities across many parts of the globe through incubation in human hosts. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a world health emergency on January 30, and announced on March 11 that it is classifying the outbreak as a pandemic. As of Tuesday, the WHO reported that there are 179,111 infected individuals worldwide. 7,426 individuals have died from the disease. The United States has 3,503 cases, with 58 deaths.

As of Tuesday, the WHO reported that Japan has 829 cases of COVID-19 with 28 deaths. These numbers do not include the number of cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama. That cruise ship had 712 infected passengers with seven deaths.

Source: Email correspondence