With the coronavirus outbreak being classified a "pandemic" by the World Health Organisation, businesses and government agencies in India are scrambling to spread awareness against the disease and protect their employees. And one of the most proactive measures seems to be coming from the food delivery app companies in India.
With the number of Indians positively diagnosed with the disease rising to 73 on Thursday, India on Wednesday suspended all visas, except a few categories such as diplomatic and employment, till April 15 to prevent the spread of the virus.
In keeping with the increased level of precautions, food delivery apps Swiggy and Zomato have introduced several measures to protect their employees including delivery persons from getting infected.
Delivery partners working with Swiggy have been asked to to self-quarantine themselves for the recommended period in case they notice symptoms and also advised them reach out to the company for assistance. "To ensure their financial safety, we are committed to supporting them financially in such situations," a Swiggy spokesperson said, adding that the company will provide free medial assistance to delivery partners in case they are tested positive.
The company is also providing continuous training to its delivery partners with regards to best practices when it comes to respiratory hygiene, the correct frequency and method of hand-washing, and awareness about symptoms associated with the pandemic to ensure easy identification.
Similar arrangements have been made by Zomato, which is utilising multiple channels of communication to sensitise other employees and users as well as delivery partners.
"We have advised all our employees to exercise their right and best judgement to work-from-home and have also created an internal emergency response team to reach out for support," a Zomato spokesperson told News18. The food delivery app has been utilising its partner apps as well as SMS services to broadcast WHO best practices among other important information such as COVID-19 testing laboratory locations as issued by the Ministry of Health.
"We are also sharing videos with our partners and putting them on our partner app to allow easy access to information," Zomato said. The spokesperson further added that the idea was to regularly distribute the right information so that the delivery partners could focus on their well being while ensuring the safe handling of food.
Both Zomato and Swiggy have been in contact with restaurants as well to ensure the latter are following all health codes and aware of the best hygiene practices while handling and packaging food items. Swiggy has even adviced delivery partners and customers to leave the food parcels at customers' doorsteps after ringing the bell or informing them otherwise in case they want to avoid contact.
Since coronavirus spreads through touching or even coming within a certain distance of an infected person, "contactless" delivery methods are being introduced by fast food outlets in China, where the COVID-19 pandemic has killed over 3,000 people. In China, fast food chains like McDonalds's and Starbucks among others have set up a system of remote ordering where the delivery partners drop sealed bags of food at specified locations where customers can come and pick them up, thus avoiding any contact.
These methods are also gaining popularity in the United States.
LIVE TV
