UK campaign groups has urged consumers to boycott Amazon on one of its biggest sales days in the year – Amazon Prime Day over fears it could a “hive of infection” after eight people tested positive for Covid-19 at a warehouse in Coventry.

The GMB workers’ union said the retailer had cut corners on social distancing and the site was “crammed” with workers.

Prime Day this year runs on 13th and 14th October, where Prime subscribers enjoy huge discounts and is one of Amazon’s busiest events.

Amazon called the union’s claims “scaremongering and irresponsible”.

The call for Amazon boycott is coming on the hills of a strike action in Germany scheduled for Prime Day over Amazon’s unacceptable business practices.

Germany trade union Verdi called for workers at Amazon (AMZN) warehouses across Germany to go on a two-day strike beginning on Amazon Prime Day 2020 on 13 October.

“Employees have been giving their best since the beginning of the corona pandemic, often without adequate protection,” said Orhan Akman, the Verdi representative for the mail order trade, adding that workers have not seen any recompense for this huge additional stress.

Dispatch centres at Leipzig, Bad Hersfeld, Rheinberg, Werne, Graben near Augsburg, and Koblenz have been called to join the strike.

Amazon maintained that workers who tested positive in Coventry had been identified through Amazon’s in-house testing facility and were asymptomatic.