Deliveroo launches no-contact drop-off as coronavirus spreads

Deliveroo has launched a no-contact drop-off service and will start taking orders for kitchen and household products in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

The online food delivery company has announced a range of measures, which extend to additional packaging and stickers to seal bags, as Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom deals with the outbreak of Covid-19.

In a letter to those who use the service, the company’s CEO Will Shu said his “number one priority is the safety of customers, riders and restaurants, no matter what happens”.

The steps taken by Deliveroo include providing restaurants with additional packaging and stickers to seal the delivery bags and a no-contract drop-off service which means customers can request a rider leaves the food on their doorstep.

The company has also promised to deliver kitchen and household products from local stores and supermarkets on the Deliveroo app.

A fund has also been organised to help its riders, meaning if they are diagnosed with the virus and unable to work they will be eligible to financial support.

Mr Shu added: “Throughout this time, we’ll be relentlessly focussed on doing everything we can to support the restaurants and riders working with us, and to bring you safe deliveries from the best restaurants across the country.”

The move comes as the UK Government and devolved administrations discuss whether to progress from a phase of containing the virus to delaying its spread.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Thursday morning it was her view “that the time has come to move from the policy of seeking to contain the virus into one that is about delaying it.”

She also cast doubt on the immediate future of mass gatherings, such as football matches, when she emphasised the need to reduce pressure on frontline emergency workers.

Sturgeon added: “From a wider resilience point of view, I think there is a big question mark over whether large scale events like that, whether it’s sensible to allow them to proceed at the moment.”