Amazon confirms its first known coronavirus case in an American warehouse, Twitter is not messing around when it comes to stopping the spread of misinformation, and Justin Trudeau unveils an $82B aid package for Canadians and small businesses.
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The Atlantic this week reported that an Amazon warehouse in Queens, New York confirmed its first case of the coronavirus. But the publication also reports that workers were expected to come in for their night shift after the case was identified. Amazon has since denied this claim, but that hasn’t stopped the story from blowing up on Reddit. It’s worth pointing out that two office workers at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters have already been diagnosed with COVID-19, and this is the first confirmed case of the disease among the company’s hourly warehouse employees in the U.S.
Under Twitter’s aggressive new COVID-19 safety rules, you can’t encourage people to go to bars or discourage them from social distancing in areas affected by the coronavirus https://t.co/BmQS9AcfY6
— Taylor Hatmaker (@tayhatmaker) March 19, 2020
Twitter this week updated its safety policy to prohibit tweets that “could place people at a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19.” The new policy reportedly bans tweets that deny expert guidance on the virus. This means tweets that encourage “fake or ineffective treatments, preventions and diagnostic techniques” as well as tweets that mislead users by pretending to be from health authorities or experts. TechCrunch reports that Twitter will take things like account history when making its final decision on flagged tweets.
And lastly, it’s not the meatiest tech story of the day, but Justin Trudeau’s 82B stimulus package for Canadians and businesses has enormous implications for all industries across the country. There’s a lot to unpack here. Among other items, Trudeau this week announced the following:
- $27 billion in direct support and $55 billion to help businesses
- A new Emergency Benefit of $900 bi-weekly for up to 15 days for workers that do not qualify for paid sick leave or employment insurance
- A six-month, no interest reprieve on student loan payments
- Extending the tax filing deadline to June 1
- $305 million for a new Indigenous Community Support Fund to address immediate needs in First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities
- GST credit for low-income earners and special support for the homeless and shelters that work with the victims of domestic violence
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