Swiggy, Zomato announce 'contactless' food delivery amid Coronavirus outbreak

The foodtech unicorns — Swiggy and Zomato — have announced several safety measures in an effort to combat the novel coronavirus. While the Bengaluru-based foodtech unicorn sent an email to all its consumers stating the different measures it is taking to combat the situation, Zomato soon followed suit with safekeeping measures of its own.

The main focus of the announcements were the different measures that the food delivery platforms were taking to ensure that their delivery partners followed all the safety and hygiene guidelines approved by the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs. They also announced that the consumer will now have the option of choosing to ask the delivery partner to leave the food at their doorstep.

Zomato further explained this through a tweet by Deepinder Goyal, Co-founder and CEO, Zomato.

"A consumer can now choose for this option through our ‘delivery instructions’ feature." He added that an "app update over the weekend will make this explicitly clear to everyone."

Through this option, the delivery executive will keep the delivery on a clean surface outside the door, and the consumer receives a photo of the delivered food. The consumer can then pick up the package at their convenience.

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Deepinder went on to explain the different measures the team is taking to ensure that the delivery partners follow all the safety measures. The thread explained that the delivery partners are being sent various advisories on COVID-19 released by the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs to keep them updated on the situation.

He added:

"We are especially emphasising best practices of how to handle food packages to ensure safe, and hygienic delivery. We have asked our delivery partners to self-quarantine or reach out to a doctor immediately if they have any symptoms. We're also informing our delivery fleet that they don't need to force themselves to work for financial reasons if they get infected with COVID-19. We'll support our delivery partners with financial assistance, on top of medical insurance, in case they are diagnosed with COVID-19."

India has now 81 confirmed cases of novel Coronavirus, with one person in Karnataka succumbing to the disease, and three people having been cured and discharged, according to the Union Health Ministry. The Karnataka government has placed a week's ban on events and conferences, with movie theatres being under lockdown. Pubs and schools across India have been asked to shut.

Apart from food delivery platforms, edtech startups BYJU'S, Toppr, Vedantu, and Lido Learning are stepping in to help students study within the confines of their homes.

(Edited by Kanishk Singh)