On Sunday, Feb. 2, Uber Mexico had released a statement saying that an exact number of 240 Uber drivers will be soon suspended for quite sometime after their suspected direct contact with the country's first possible positive case of Novel Coronavirus (2019 - nCoV).
[ALARMING] Is coronavirus spreading on uber drivers?
In the statement released by Uber Mexico on Twitter, the company informed its drivers that most of them would be temporarily deactivated from using the app.
"For your safety and the safety of others, your account will not be able to be used to request rides at the moment," said Uber message from one of the suspended Uber drivers on Twitter.
The said suspension was made after a suspected Novel Coronavirus victim booked Uber from Los Angeles. Only two Uber drivers were confirmed to have direct contact with the said rider, according to Uber; however-- as a preventive measurement-- the company decided to suspend 240 Uber drivers that made contact with the two drivers.
"We will keep users and drivers informed with respect to any update of their accounts," the company said in the statement, adding that it will work in a coordinated manner with authorities.
Mexico's first possible coronavirus case
Mexico City's Health Ministry told reports aside from the Uber driver, the hotel personnel, and other direct contacts of the said victim were now being checked with Coronavirus symptoms.
Until now, these people have not yet reacted to any symptoms after ten days since contact. The quarantine will last until 14 days to make sure that the direct contacts do not have the virus.
As of today, Mexico has not yet reported any positive case of Novel Coronavirus.
Businesses closing down due to coronavirus outbreak
Uber is not the only company that got affected by the continuous Coronavirus outbreak that is happening around the world.
Apple, recently announced that it would temporarily close down all of its stores and offices in Mainland China to protect its employees from getting the virus.
Disney's theme parks also made preventive measurements by closing down their parks located in Shanghai and Hongkong.
Coronavirus update
As of Sunday, Feb. 2, a total number of 362 deaths were reported all from China and one from the Philippines. Roughly 17,000 victims were already confirmed to have viral disease all over the world.
11 positive cases from this number came from the United States. The country already imposed new travel restrictions on various airlines and said that foreign nationals and US citizens who visited China around the time of the disease would be under quarantine for 14 days before allowing entry to the country.
World Health Organization is still advising all citizens around the world to become more vigilant with their environment, avoid close contact with people with respiratory diseases, and practice frequent hand-washing anywhere you go.
