Amazon to temporarily stop shipping non-essential products in Italy and France
A courier wearing a respiratory mask handles an Amazon parcel in Milan, Italy. | Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images
Amazon says it has temporarily stopped taking orders on some non-essential products on its sites in Italy (amazon.it) and France (amazon.fr) as part of its efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“As customers use e-commerce to support their social distancing efforts, we too have implemented social distancing guidance within our fulfillment centers to keep our employees safe and healthy,” a spokesperson for Amazon in Italy said in an emailed statement to The Verge. Customers can still order many of these products from third-party sellers who are able to ship directly to customers, the spokesperson added. Essential products would include food and hygiene items, he said.
The company says the measure will allow “fulfillment...