To stop the spread of coronavirus, Uber is telling users and drivers it may temporarily suspend their accounts if they’ve contracted or been exposed to the illness.
The company will decide to suspend an account based on communication from public health authorities, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an email sent out to users on Tuesday night.
“Working with them (health authorities), we may temporarily suspend the accounts of riders or drivers confirmed to have contracted or been exposed to COVID-19 (the coronavirus). We’re also consulting with an epidemiologist to make sure our efforts as a company are grounded in medical advice,” he added.
To keep Uber cars germ-free, the company has been providing cleaning disinfectants to all drivers, although Khosrowshahi said the cleaning supplies are limited. “But we’re partnering with manufacturers and distributors to source as much as possible. We’ll be prioritizing distribution to drivers in cities with the greatest need,” he added.
On Uber Eats, the company is also trying to address food delivery customers who’ve chosen to self-quarantine and prefer no human contact at all. According to Khosrowshahi, you can now add a note on your orders, telling the delivery person to simply leave your food at the door.
“They may include a note like ‘Please leave my order at the door’ or ‘ring my doorbell and leave in the lobby.’ You can see these instructions in the app under ‘customer note’ once you arrive at their location,” Uber says.
Uber hasn’t said whether it’s encountered any users contracting the illness in the US, which now has over 1,000 confirmed coronavirus cases . But in Mexico, the company last month decided to temporarily suspend the accounts of 240 users who rode with two Uber drivers who came in contact with a suspected coronavirus carrier.
In the event a driver or Uber Eats delivery person is diagnosed with COVID-19 or told by health authorities to self-quarantine, the company plans on giving them financial assistance for up to 14 days while their account has been suspended. “We’ve already helped drivers in some affected areas, and we’re working to quickly implement this worldwide,” Khosrowshahi added.
For more information, Uber has created a dedicated webpage focused on addressing the coronavirus outbreak.
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