Concerns rise over deliverymen spreading virus

Food is delivered by scooters in Gwanghwamun area in Seoul, on Sept. 2. / Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

It has become the “new normal” for people to place an order online and receive food in front of their apartment door amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This has brought about a heyday for food delivery service firms such as Woowa Brothers, Delivery Hero and Coupang Eats, but there is also a fear that the virus might spread through delivery drivers, also known as “riders” here.

The three firms are not that concerned about the riders spreading the virus as they work individually outdoors and they do not gather in a closed area under one roof. Still, they want to make sure that they avoid the very small chance of a COVID-19 infection outbreak among them.

“First, all the delivery workers have to wear a face mask. This is an obligation. Second, we consistently send them messages that those who are in the 14 days of self-quarantine cannot work. Third, their body temperature is checked every day,” a Coupang official said.

As another infection cluster raised the number of COVID-19 patients sharply to record over 200 cases per day in the capital area over the last two weeks, more than half of people ordering food online with Coupang Eats have asked delivery workers to leave the meal in front of the door and ring the bell before they go.

Delivered food is left in front of a door at an apartment building in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Sept. 2. / Korea times file

“Both our customers and delivery drivers feel safer with no contact between the two,” a Coupang official added.

Woowa Brothers, the operator of the country's No.1 food delivery player Baedal Minjok (Baemin), also said it is consistently notifying its deliverymen of precautions related to personal hygiene.

“It is mandatory for our riders to wear face covers while delivering food and they have to get their body temperature checked regularly,” a Woowa Brothers official said.

Many apartments have posted a note at the entrance of the building that reads “Deliverymen without a protective mask are not allowed.”

Delivery workers also express frustration over people not wearing face masks at their door to receive food.

“Riders are worried too, because we don't know if the person has been infected by the virus and is self-isolating at home or not,” a Rider Union official said.

Meanwhile, food delivery service firms are struggling to secure enough delivery riders amid the skyrocketing online order volume.

Especially starting from Aug. 30, when the government placed stricter rules on social distancing that close all restaurants after 9 p.m. and only allow delivery service, riders have become scarcer in the market.

The number of online orders with Baemin in three days between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 increased by 7 percent compared to the previous week.

“Online orders for coffee and desserts soared by 30 percent since last Sunday as all franchise coffee shops were banned from having in-store customers,” an Woowa Brother official said.

Riders are also complaining about the heavy workload. They had to deliver six orders per hour before; but now, impractically, they have to do 10.

Obviously, drivers have failed to deliver orders on time.

“This is a really physically demanding job. Customers expect their order to arrive within an hour and it is becoming more difficult to keep to that with the number of orders online increasing and increasing,” a deliveryman said.

Meanwhile, an 11th COVID-19 infection has been confirmed at Coupang's logistics center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. A worker from its security firm tested positive for the virus there Saturday, Coupang said.