Amazon, the U.S. Postal Service and supermarkets like ShopRite that offer home delivery are among employers that have publicly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in their workforce across the Lehigh Valley region.

Not everyone is taking that approach.

In response to inquiries from lehighvalleylive.com spurred by emails and calls from concerned employees, UPS, FedEx Ground and Walmart have all declined to discuss cases of coronavirus infections that they may be seeing.

These are companies considered life-sustaining under Gov. Tom Wolf’s order that forced the closure of countless other businesses across Pennsylvania. Offering storage, distribution and delivery, they’re a lifeline to residents ordered to stay at home in Lehigh, Northampton and 31 other counties in the effort to halt the virus’ spread.

In detailed information on their websites, UPS, FedEx and Walmart are among businesses across the United States offering transparency about their efforts to protect workers and customers alike.

But in response to workers’ inquiries about possible infections in their midst, here’s a look at what these three companies -- all major Lehigh Valley employers -- have had to say:

“UPS is not confirming employee cases for employee privacy reasons," a company representative said in a statement. "If there is a need to disclose a positive case for public health reasons the disclosure will come from local health departments or other authorities."

If an employee tests positive for COVID-19, UPS says it works with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health departments around the world to evaluate risks associated with the employee's contacts.

“When appropriate, employees who work directly in the vicinity of the employee who tested positive are notified that they may have been exposed and that they should pay special attention to the potential emergence of symptoms,” UPS stated. “We clean and sanitize the work area in question before employees are allowed to return to the work area. We do not specifically identify the employee due to personal privacy concerns.”

UPS calls the "ongoing health of our employees ... essential for UPS to play the critical role it must now fulfill to keep the economy moving and our communities served." That includes increasing cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces throughout its facilities, and of its vehicles daily.

"We have distributed protective equipment to employees and we are replenishing our other supplies including gloves and cleaning materials regularly throughout our 2,200-facility U.S. network," the company stated.

Laura Lane, president of global public affairs at UPS, joins President Donald Trump during a coronavirus task force briefing Sunday, March 29, 2020, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C.AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

FedEx Ground in a statement confirmed that while "some FedEx team members across the enterprise have reported a confirmed diagnosis, we are not sharing specific numbers or locations at this time."

In terms of informing co-workers of a positive diagnosis, the company says it is "taking all necessary precautions and following guidance from public health organizations related to reporting and containment of the coronavirus."

FedEx says the "safety and well-being of our team members and customers is our top priority" and that it's following the recommended procedures of the CDC and other public health organizations.

"As an essential business, FedEx Ground takes seriously our responsibility to continue delivering critically needed supplies as the country responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to work diligently to provide supplies across the network to assist with hygiene, including hand soap, disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer.

"In addition, we are encouraging our team members to take any signs of illness seriously, seek medical attention as needed, and promoting guidance from leading public health organizations, and other experts, on how to keep the workplace safe."

Walmart has begun installing floor decals at entrances and checkout lanes to help customers maintain the recommended social distancing of at least six feet from other people, as part of efforts to halt the spread of the coronavirus.Courtesy Walmart | For lehighvalleylive.com

Walmart, which announced Tuesday new safety measures like taking employees’ temperatures before their shift, says that any update on COVID-19 cases would come only from public health officials -- not the company -- in order to follow Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy regulations.

"We are focused on serving our customers during this unprecedented time," Walmart stated. "As we’ve announced before, we have enacted cleaning and sanitizing protocols with guidance from the CDC and Walmart’s Chief Medical Officer, and we will continue taking any and all measures necessary to ensure the well-being of our associates and customers."

Additional measures taken have included adjusting operating hours to 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. to help associates restock shelves while continuing to clean and sanitize buildings. It's also begun installing plexiglass barriers at it pharmacy lanes in both Walmart and Sam’s Club locations and at Walmart registers. Floor decals are also being installed at entrances and checkout lanes to help customers maintain the recommended social distancing of at least six feet from other people.

Visit cdc.gov to learn more about cleaning and disinfection recommendations for businesses and for households.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. If there’s anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.