Online shopping surges as coronavirus spreads, raising concerns about delivery workers

Employees work inside Amazon's 300,000-square-foot sorting center in Kent, Washington. E-commerce delivery, which has grown rapidly in the past two decades, could take on an even bigger role with a population that appears increasingly uneasy about going out in public. — Seattle Times/TNS

SEATTLE: For gig-economy drivers working to serve a coronavirus-driven surge in demand for delivery, the weekend was a frenzied rush as shoppers placed grocery orders and some systems appeared overwhelmed, at least temporarily. Volumes also were abnormally high Monday.

"This was definitely the weekend where you can tell that all of Seattle was freaking out," said one driver who ferries passengers, groceries and packages around the region for Uber, Lyft, Instacart and Amazon.