Gig workers: unsung heroes and a strategic role in the UK national response to the COVID-19 pandemic

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Home-isolation and lockdown are necessary for preventing infectious disease transmission, with many of our basic needs provided by platform companies and delivery workers. This sector plays a vital role in reinforcing the infection control measures and reducing public anxiety by keeping logistics functioning and services and supplies available. Mounting anecdotal evidence suggests that gig workers are unsung heroes and deserve more attention and protection. We aim to understand how gig workers, with a focus on delivery workers, have contributed to suppressing transmission by increased delivery to households. In addition, we consider the possibility that they could become a route of transmission if adequate occupational health protection is not provided. We will conduct focus groups and interviews with industry participants and delivery workers to collect data on the volume and pattern of deliveries. We will then use mathematical models to determine how the delivery sector contributes to minimising the risk of spreading the disease and the impact of additional measures to protect the workers and reduce infection risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The outcome will inform the UK’s policy making in social distancing and coordination of supply chains as a key component of national response.