SAN ANTONIO – Retail giant Amazon announced Tuesday that certain shipments will be prioritized in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The company made the decision to “temporarily prioritize household staples, medical supplies and other high-demand products,” according to the Amazon blog.
This does not mean deliveries of other items will be put on hold. Customers can still expect orders to be fulfilled and “can continue to buy any in-stock product in our store, and we will continue to deliver them,” the blog post said.
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Amazon officials are asking for the public’s help to expedite the shipping process by choosing the no-rush shipping option to help consolidate orders which will, in turn, allow drivers to make fewer stops and serve customers with critical needs first.
As supplies of certain products like hand sanitizer plummeted, the retailer is also “working to ensure that no one artificially raises prices on basic need products.”
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The blog post states that tens of thousands of items have been blocked or removed in accordance with Amazon’s fair pricing policy.
Amazon has not indicated when the temporary prioritization of shipments will be lifted.
“We believe our role serving customers and the community during this time is a critical one, and we want to make sure our customers can get the items they need, when they need them,” the blog said.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.
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