Swiggy & Zomato suspend food delivery in Mumbai post 8 PM in wake of the state-imposed night curfew
Both food delivery giants have sent notifications to their users in Maharashtra districts to order food before 8 PM.
In wake of the exponential rise of COVID cases in Mumbai and across, food delivery giants like Swiggy and Zomato have announced to suspend delivery services post 8 PM in Maharashtra in compliance with the night curfew norms. Both these services are accessible through mobile apps and have alerted users through in-app messages and notifications to place their orders before 8 PM. As per reports, the messages were generated on the first day of partial lockdown in Maharashtra, on April 5.
Maharashtra users cannot order food via Swiggy & Zomato post 8 PM
The Maharashtra government issued detailed guidelines for food delivery services in Mumbai and other districts when it first announced COVID-19 restrictions here to arrest the surging case rise. On weekdays, takeaways, parcels and home delivery will be allowed between 7 AM and 8 PM while only home delivery services will be permitted during the weekend lockdown.
This service too will be avaiable between 7 AM and 8 PM only and people are not allowed to visit eateries or bars to order and pick up food. In compliance with this, Swiggy and Zomato have stopped taking orders after 8 PM. Both the apps generate dialogues to prevent people from placing orders in the restricted period.
Additionally, Swiggy announced that it will cover the expenses of COVID RT-PCR tests in its COVID cover which includes the vaccination of delivery officials in Maharashtra. The company spokesperson also stated that as an essential service, it is ensuring safe deliveries by supporting the health of its delivery partners and consumers.
The Maharashtra COVID update
The second wave of the coronavirus has rendered its sharpest blow to Maharashtra, among all other Indian states. As of April 6, the state is nursing a total of 4,72,283 active cases where about 55,469 fresh cases were added to the tally in the last 24 hours. Here, state capital Mumbai has emerged as one of the worst-hit districts, with 10,040 fresh infections and 79,368 active cases.