THE deadly coronavirus is disrupting China’s enormous food delivery networks, complicating daily life for millions.

Over the last decade, the food delivery industry became far more pervasive in China than in any other country, serving more than 500 million customers and employing three million delivery drivers. But as the virus death toll rises, those peripatetic workers, in trademark blue and yellow jackets, are being shunned as potential carriers of the disease.

That is rattling the US$36 billion business and every slice of the economy it touches. Restaurants that rely on the services are moribund. Consumers are scrambling for alternatives.

“I’ve stopped ordering delivery food because the epidemic is really serious now and it freaks me out,” says 25-year-old Cathy Liu, who used to order in once or twice a week.

Meituan Dianping and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the two biggest delivery companies, are racing to address the health concerns. School and business closures present a potential windfall — if companies can reassure consumers. During the SARS scare of 2003, people got hooked ordering stuff online while being forced to stay home from public places.

But reports of sick couriers are turbocharging anxieties. In one story that ripped through social media, a driver made three dozen deliveries across Qingdao before his wife was officially diagnosed with the virus. In Shenzhen, local media reported an infected courier had worked for the previous 14 days while showing no symptoms.

Many building complexes have halted access to food delivery drivers, and some communities have restricted entry to all outsiders. Restaurants say orders are in free fall and consumers say delivery fees have increased, sometimes double what they were before the outbreak.

Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me, which command 90 percent of the market, highlighted measures they’re taking to protect drivers and customers.

Meituan introduced a service across 184 cities so food is dropped at a secure pickup station and people have no direct contact with deliverymen. Ele.me has done the same in select cities. Both firms are asking riders to wear masks, regularly disinfect their delivery boxes and take their temperatures daily. (SD-Agencies)