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However, because of the size of the facility and the lack of communication between departments, implementing these changes has taken time.

And some workers are not adhering to the rules. There are also rumours of employees that aren’t feeling well and hiding symptoms to continue working.

“They’ve done everything they can to mitigate the best they can in a facility with so many people,” the source said. “Nonetheless, there are definitely mixed attitudes.

“Some people inside this facility still have the attitude that this is not a serious event, that it is overblown, and people have conspiracy theories. You see people all the time bunching in groups of people less than six feet apart.”

After Sunday’s confirmed case of COVID-19, employees were feeling uneasy after they were told to come to work rather than shutting down the facility to sanitize the workspaces.

“I would hope that AHS (Alberta Health Services), the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, the county’s bylaw officers, somebody comes in and says, ‘Look, you have a confirmed case. We have to get involved. We have to track this down,’” the source said. “It’s not like Amazon would be hurt if this facility was shut down for 14 days.”

The 600,000-square-foot facility and distribution hub was completed in 2018. It packs and ships items for delivery all over Western Canada.

Amazon said Monday it would hire 75,000 more people — from warehouse staff to delivery drivers — in the U.S. while increasing its minimum wage through April. The company said it expects to spend more than $500 million globally to increase wages for workers during the pandemic, up from a previous estimate of $350 million.

The local facility recently trained more than 100 new workers to handle the increased demands of customers ordering items online during the social distancing and isolation period, while overtime and extra shifts are being offered.

kanderson@postmedia.com

Twitter: @KDotAnderson