TORONTO Food service app couriers and mail carriers are being encouraged to change the way they handle shipments as more Canadians self-isolate to prevent COVID-19 transmission.
Uber Eats and Foodora say they’ve instructed their delivery employees to do what they can to minimize contact with packages. That includes accommodating special requests from customers to leave the meals outside their doors.
Foodora introduced an additional measure that urges couriers to regularly wipe their delivery bags with disinfectant wipes.
Carriers at Canada Post have also been given new safety measures for door-to-door deliveries, which include no longer requiring signatures for packages. The mail service says that will prevent using scanners and passing stylus pens back and forth at each stop.
Delivery staff will also use a “safe drop process” where they leave packages in the mailbox or outside the door when possible, or if it isn’t, a notice with directions for the nearest post office.
There are exceptions to Canada Post’s revised practices, however, since certain packages require customs fees, proof of identity or age or are certified deliveries. In those cases, customers will receive a card directing them to a post office. People under self-isolation are encouraged to make alternate pick-up arrangements with someone else.