What About Delivery Rider Masks?

Urgent Shortage of Masks for Delivery Workers Amid Soaring Food Delivery Demand

On the 6th, citizens are purchasing masks at a pharmacy near Jongno 5-ga, Seoul. From this day onward, a duplicate purchase verification system has been established at pharmacies nationwide, requiring presentation of an ID to buy masks. The purchase limit per person has been reduced from 5 masks to 2 masks per person. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

#As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) spreads, office worker Kim Gwanghyun (alias), who started working from home, relies on delivery food for his meals. Besides his family, the only person he sees daily is the delivery driver. During this period, he carefully checks whether the delivery drivers, who have more outdoor activities than anyone else, are wearing masks.

#Cha Myeongseok (alias), who works as a delivery driver for a food delivery platform, has seen a significant increase in orders since the COVID-19 outbreak but cannot be entirely happy. This is because customers might be in self-quarantine. Recently, a delivery driver was confirmed positive for COVID-19. Cha wears the mask provided by the company, but since he works outside for long hours every day, the supply is insufficient.

Along with food, anxiety is also delivered. Both customers ordering food at home and the delivery drivers carrying the food face each other with a sense of unease. This is a phenomenon caused by COVID-19. That anxiety is somewhat eased by the delivery drivers’ masks. However, there is an emergency in securing masks for delivery drivers. Although delivery application (app) companies purchase masks at high prices to distribute them, securing sufficient quantities is not easy.

Last month, when the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases sharply increased, orders through food delivery apps rose by about 10% compared to January. As orders increased, securing masks to distribute to delivery drivers became the most critical issue for delivery app companies. Delivery agency Barogo distributed 30,000 masks to drivers in two rounds. Barogo has 45,000 registered delivery drivers, with 15,000 regularly active. They prioritize distribution to areas with many confirmed cases and strive to secure as many masks as possible, but the situation remains challenging. Baemin (Baedal Minjok) also recently distributed about 20,000 masks to drivers. There are about 2,300 full-time Baemin riders and approximately 16,000 workers including part-time Baemin Connectors. The company states that they will continue to provide masks, but if the situation prolongs and stockpiles run out, urgent measures will be needed.

If mask distribution is not smooth, delivery drivers will be exposed to infection risks without protection. A bigger problem is that if a delivery driver becomes infected with COVID-19, due to the nature of their work?visiting multiple areas daily and contacting customers?they could become a 'super spreader.' Jung Mina, policy team leader at the Korea Startup Forum, pointed out, "Delivery drivers need to change masks daily and receive continuous supplies, which has made supply difficult. There have been cases where orders were placed but masks were not received due to supply shortages, leading to cancellations." She added, "Regarding industrial safety, the government should consider providing some support and distributing masks to delivery drivers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.