Uber recently announced a compensation for its drivers, who get infected by coronavirus, and is now being followed by multiple rideshare and food delivery companies.
Uber had announced that any driver providing valid medical documentation showing a diagnosis for coronavirus infection or quarantine for coronavirus; will be compensated for a period up to 14 days.
This announcement reportedly came in after an Uber driver was tested positive for coronavirus in New York. This also led to the ride-hailing and delivery companies talking about setting up a fund and it is expected that a plan will be ready in some days, reports said.
According to a statement given by an Uber spokesman, "some markets have already initiated this step, which will eventually be implemented across the world."
"We believe this is the right thing to do," said Andrew Macdonald, the senior vice president of rides and platform.
According to recent reports, Uber has already paid some drivers in U.K. and Mexico who were quarantined for a possible coronavirus infection, who ultimately didn't catch the infection and stated that it would pay for the services in the U.S. as well.
The world economy took a major hit after the coronavirus infection spread in China and then to several other countries. Thousands have died with new deaths being reported daily and tens of thousands have got infected, there have been slowdowns in tourism and manufacturing industry due to the virus.
Some meal and food delivery services stated that many companies round the world are discussing about taking a similar step.
Some delivery companies are also considering following a different method of delivery by simply hanging the food at the door and sending a photo of the delivery done to the customer in order to avoid the infection from spreading. DoorDash said it was working "to protect the health and safety of our community in response to the spread of COVID-19, including exploring options with our peer companies to compensate the affected drivers."
