Infections Confirmed at Coupang and Market Kurly
Multiple COVID-19 infections have been confirmed at Coupang and Market Kurly logistics centers. Concerns are mounting over the possibility of additional infections in the e-commerce industry.
As of May 27, the number of confirmed infections at Coupang’s logistics center in Bucheon is at least 63. Some of them packed parcels for early-morning food delivery. As for Market Kurly, infections have been confirmed at its logistics center located in Jangji-dong, Seoul.
Those centers are based on advanced equipment and facilities and artificial intelligence. However, work such as packing and taping is still manually done. “Early-morning food delivery is basically non-face-to-face delivery and, as such, the possibility of person-to-person infection is low,” said an industry source, adding, “However, more and more consumers are expressing concerns over the possibility of infection attributable to droplets remaining on their parcel boxes.”
What matters is whether non-face-to-face delivery can cause COVID-19 infection. The possibility is low according to the South Korean government, which said on May 26 that COVID-19 infection attributable to medium- to long-range product delivery has never been reported yet. Still, the lack of such cases is not enough to calm consumers.