53,819 COVID-19 deaths in the US in April 2020 according to the site Our World in Data. With all the precautions we have in place, we always seem to be struggling with slowing down this sneaky killer. Of course, that high number is attributed to many different factors, but today we’re focusing on one and a potential solution. Delivery services should start to lower their prices.

Even though the lockdowns have greatly reduced the people walking around in public, the need to gather food and other necessary supplies forces even the most cautious citizens to leave the safety of their homes. If companies would make leaving the public to leave their house less, this would greatly lower the chances of people being infected.

No matter where you go, the main place people tend to gather is grocery stores, with lines going on for forever. Even though there are safeguards with these, there’s only so much we can control. There are still people who don’t abide by the six feet distancing rule or would rather walk around without a mask. And yes, there are more people obeying the law, it takes only one person to start the spread. 

This is probably the first and most obvious benefit of lower delivery prices. More people have the option to stay home rather than go out to the store and be at the mercy of others and potentially the mercy of some people who aren’t taking this situation seriously. Just having a more accessible option can help a situation drastically.

A second-place where a more delivery based shopping would help is job availability. Due to the situation, many have faced unemployment and are struggling to make ends meet due to bills still being in effect, shopping for necessities, or both. With more of a demand for delivery services, there would be more options for a steady income with the high demand for drivers. It’s not much, especially for those who had much higher wages, but it’s something.

My third point is that it would greatly benefit the grocery shop workers. It’s already a risk going out to work right now, and since these workers are dealing with customers on a face to face basis, there’s a high risk of them getting COVID and spreading it. By lowering the number of people going to the shops physically would greatly improve their chances of staying healthy and will limit their exposure.

And speaking about employees, this would also help local businesses get some income during this time. Since no one can physically go and stay at their shops, it would help give them a lifeline if more people can just order their food and have it delivered. And all the benefits above can also be attributed, the likelihood of infection lowered, the workers still have jobs, and most importantly the shops stay open.

This is just an idea, a small one at that, but often small ideas bring great effects. By lowering the prices of delivery services can drastically flatten the curve and we need to at least give it a try. Keeping everyone safe at home is the only way to slow this thing down until our medical experts find a way to beat it, so give us more options.