How safe is it to receive delivery packages at home in Dhaka?

Arafat Hossain Sifat, a deliveryman of an online shop, doesn't mind being overburdened with double workload during the coronavirus lockdown - he has got a pay hike. But the customers are not happy with the safety measures taken by the companies.

With a vast majority of the population cooped up in their homes since Bangladesh was locked down on Mar 26, more and more people in Dhaka are ordering groceries and household essentials online or over the phone.

The e-commerce firms have taken a raft of measures to put in place health safeguards for both shoppers and the deliverymen. These include providing the workers with face masks, protective gear (PPE), face shields, and hand sanitiser.   

The home delivery services of online stores have picked up amid the coronavirus shutdown. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

But shoppers are far from convinced. They say many delivery men were not maintaining proper hygiene, raising the risk of infection and exposure to the virus at both ends.

Not all the companies have given the workers protective gear. And in some cases, the workers are not wearing masks. Officials with these companies claim they have done "everything" to ensure the health safety of their staffers and customers.

“I have been doing my grocery shopping online since the lockdown started. I haven’t seen any of the delivery men wearing PPE. Some of them wear cloth masks. Most of them don’t wear gloves either,” Sarwar Nipu, a resident of Mohammadpur, told bdnews24.com.

“My company has given me PPE, gloves and masks but most of the time I wear the gloves and mask only while delivering the orders,” said Sifat, who works at an online shop of meat, fish and other perishable goods.

The home delivery services of online stores have picked up amid the coronavirus shutdown. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

He said he maintains physical distancing at all times.

A worker of Meena Click, the online service provider for superstore Meena Bazar, said he got a face shield from the company, but no PPE.

Another delivery man from online marketplace Priyoshop said the firm provided them only with face masks.

Meena Bazar has 100 workers who deliver goods in Dhaka.

Its CEO Shaheen Khan said they gave the workers face masks, gloves, face shields and hand sanitiser. The delivery men use motorcycles.

But those working at the stores are more at risk of infection because they are exposed to more people than the delivery men, he said.

Othoba has been supplying washable PPE, gloves, masks and hand sanitiser to its staffers, said its Head of Operations Mahmudul Haque Ullash.

The home delivery services of online stores have picked up amid the coronavirus shutdown. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

Shwapno also has home delivery services for customers who place orders on its online store or over phone.

Mahadi Faisal, a spokesman for the company, said they have distributed PPE among the deliverymen only in the coronavirus hotspots such as Mirpur.

“We have taken measures to ensure the health safety of the workers in the stores and the delivery process,” Mahadi said.