COVID-19: What We’re Doing To Keep You Safe

April 17, 2020

By : admin

As the COVID-19 lockdown continues, at Swiggy, we are committed to strengthening our safety measures every day. The online delivery of food and groceries has been recognised by the central government as an essential service, and one that help keep several citizens safe indoors. Additionally, credible bodies like the Food and Safety Standards Authority of India and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have clarified that food hasn’t been found to be a medium of transmission of COVID-19. However, in order to minimize the low risk of transmission through your delivery experience even further, here are a few of the many measures we have implemented:

Delivery Partner Training

To ensure that your order is delivered safely, we regularly send reminders to our delivery partners on best practices of respiratory hygiene, proper method and frequency of hand washing, as well as identification of associated symptoms. A series of videos capturing pertinent details shot in multiple languages is being circulated as a ready reckoner.

Masks for Delivery Partners

We have been working hard to get masks to all our delivery partners through our network of cloud kitchens and partners. We have additionally also created a technology-based solution to check usage of masks by delivery partners before they start delivering every day.

No-Contact Delivery

To make deliveries safer for you and for our delivery partners, we’d introduced a No-contact Delivery feature on our app in March 2020. By opting in for a no-contact delivery, you can maintain social distancing between you and your delivery partner. In this case, your order will be dropped off at your gate or door, which you can then pick up at your convenience.

Restaurant Partner Advisory

To facilitate the safe and hygienic preparation of every order, we have shared a detailed advisory with all of our restaurant partners on best practices to be followed. These include hand washing regimes, mandatory temperature checks, use of 3-ply face masks for all staff, self quarantine measures in case of any illness, and sanitization facilities for delivery partners at the order pick-up points. In an effort to keep your order protected from any contact during transit, we are also urging partners to pack all orders in separate bags.

Auditing Restaurants with Best Safety Standards

We are working closely with restaurants which we have identified to be taking additional precautionary measures including daily staff testing, maintaining high hygiene standards and safe packaging. You can look for the Best In Safety badge or collection to order from these restaurants. For many of these restaurants, you can also get a peek into their kitchen to see some of their safety processes through photos in the Safety Standards section in their menu on Swiggy.

This collection is currently live in 48 cities and we are trying to make this available to more cities soon.

Read About All Our Safety Measures

Measures we take to curb the spread

The presence of a few delivery partners on the roads helps keep millions of Indians safe indoors. In the rare instance of a delivery partner testing positive or displaying symptoms despite following all the safety measures we have in place, here’s what we do to keep you and them safe:

The infected (or suspected to be infected) delivery partner is immediately asked to stop delivering orders temporarily.
The delivery partner is redirected to the nearest available doctor to get tested and/or treated. The delivery partner is also immediately quarantined.
We then identify other delivery partners who were in recent contact with the infected (or suspected to be infected) delivery partner. They too are asked to stop delivering temporarily, are asked to be tested, and made to self-isolate for the recommended period.
Any customer and restaurant the infected (or suspected to be infected) delivery partner may have come into contact with recently are identified and intimated with the help of local authorities.
All of the above steps are completed within 24 hours of our being made aware of such an incident.
Any delivery partner who is temporarily suspended due to Covid-related reasons receives 1.5 times their minimum guaranteed earnings for at least 2 weeks. Income protection and medical insurance programmes are also in place to support them financially.

Simple things you can do to make your food order risk-free

Before & While Receiving Your Order

Choose Dishes That Are Well Cooked
Avoid ordering dishes which call for raw or undercooked food. Instead, opt for dishes that require high temperatures to be prepared such as pizzas, curries, steamed veggies, baked foods, etc.
Go Cashlesss
Pay online so that you can avoid exchanging cash, thus limiting or completely eliminating your contact with multiple people.
Opt for No-contact Delivery
With No-contact Delivery, your order will be left at your gate or door so you can practise social distancing. For added hygiene, please leave a bag, table or stool outside where you order can be left.
Limit Package Handling to One Person
Ideally, only the person receiving the order/package should handle the package, till the outer packaging has been discarded. It is recommended that elderly people do not handle packages themselves in these times.

After Receiving Your Order

Discard Outer Packaging & Transfer Your Food
Dispose of outer covers like paper or plastic bags immediately after receiving your food. It is also recommended that you transfer the food from the container to your own vessel before consumption.
Wash Your Hands
Once the packaging has been discarded, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Repeat before consuming food (and at regular intervals throughout the day).
Reheat Your Food
High temperatures can kill any potential bacteria or viruses. So, for your safety, we recommend reheating your food before consumption.

Read more about online food ordering and safety measures you can follow, by clicking on the following links: