Amazon: Nearly 20,000 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 so far

The online retailer Amazon shared Thursday that 19,816 employees within the company have tested positive for COVID-19.

The company noted the figure in relation to its nearly 1.4 million workers with Amazon and Whole Foods Market in the U.S. Amazon maintains a fulfillment center in Fall River that employs about 1,000 people.

"We've decided to publicly share the COVID-19 infection rates among Amazon front-line employees — something few if any companies and no other major retailers have done," the company said in discussing its efforts.

CNN reports the company had resisted sharing comprehensive data with the public and with its own workers since the start of the pandemic.

The company also said it's invested hundreds of millions of dollars in testing to keep workers safe.