Coronavirus In Illinois: Uber Eats Waiving Delivery Fees For Independent Restaurants

CHICAGO (CBS) -- With Illinois restaurants and bars set to close to dine-in customers by the end of business on Monday, due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, Uber Eats is waiving all delivery fees on orders from independent restaurants across the United States and Canada.

"We know the coming weeks will be challenging ones for many small business owners, and we want to help restaurants focus on food, not finances." said Janelle Sallenave, head of Uber Eats for the U.S. and Canada. "That's why we're working to drive increased demand to more than 100,000 independent restaurants across the U.S. and Canada through free delivery and marketing efforts."

The announcement came one day after Gov. JB Pritzker ordered all Illinois restaurants and bars to close to dine-in customers by the end of the day on Monday. Restaurants will still be allowed to provide delivery, drive-through, and curbside pickup service.

Meantime, Uber Eats also said it is giving all of its client restaurants the option of receiving daily payouts, rather than the standard weekly payouts.

The company also said it is working with local and state governments to deliver more than 300,000 free meals to healthcare and relief workers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Last week, GrubHub also announced it was suspending the collection of up to $100 million in commissions from independent restaurants to help them offset lost business from worries about the coronavirus.

Uber Eats, GrubHub, and DoorDash also are offering customers no-contact delivery options during the coronavirus pandemic, to help reduce the spread of the virus.