Coronavirus: Can you still order a takeaway?

You might be staying home during the coronavirus outbreak but you still need to eat.

If you didn’t stockpile early (or if your tiny flat simply has no room for a month worth of food), ordering in could be one of your few options.

Of course, usually, you have to answer the door to the driver to get your food so if you are diagnosed, have been told to self-isolate or have just taken the decision to avoid other people, it’s not ideal.

But don’t worry, you can still order takeaway during the outbreak. Most delivery apps are putting measures in place so you can pick up your food, without coming into contact with the driver.

Today, Deliveroo announced that they would introduce a no contact delivery service to protect both customers and riders.

A spokesperson said: ‘At Deliveroo we are taking action to keep our customers, riders and restaurants safe. To make our delivery service even safer we are introducing a no-contact, drop-off service.’

They plan to introduce the feature early next week for people to request that food is left safely on the doorstep, but for now, customers can leave a note for the driver.

To add notes on Deliveroo, you need to hit the account icon in the top right-hand corner, go to your saved addresses and on each address, there is an option to add delivery notes.

Uber Eats has a similar policy in place.

They published advice for customers and delivery people on their website.

The post said: ‘We understand that you may be relying more on food delivery right now. If you prefer, you can leave a note in the Uber Eats app to ask your delivery person to leave your food at the door.’

They also told delivery people to be aware of notes in the app including things like ‘please leave my order at the door’ or ‘ring my doorbell and leave in the lobby’ so hopefully they remember to check when they arrive.

On Uber Eats, when you order your food, you can review delivery details and add delivery notes there, below where it details your address. There’s currently an option on the home screen of the app with instructions to help.

Uber Eats has also offered 14 days of financial assistance to any driver who is diagnosed with the virus or who is asked to self-isolate, to try to avoid those who are ill coming to work.

So in short, don’t worry – you can still order food without coming into contact with someone else.

It’s also worth noting that some shops and supermarkets offer delivery of basics through the apps so it might be good to use them for basic supplies.

With most of the big restaurant chains offering delivery these days, you don’t have to go to a restaurant to enjoy a tasty meal.

Be aware though, there may be an increased demand and fewer riders around so you might have to wait longer for your meal.

We’re still waiting to hear from JustEat about their delivery options and will update this article when we hear back from them.

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