As India battles a massive second wave of Covid-19 infections, start-ups are joining forces to keep the virus at bay with “pay as much as you can afford” bio-bubble facilities for people who are uncomfortable about their safety; using matchmaking engine to help Covid-19 patients find the right plasma donors and offering ghar ka khaana options to those who are unable to cook three healthy, nutritious meals a day.
Co-living space provider Zolostays has kickstarted an initiative to create bio-bubble facilities for people who are currently staying in an environment where they are not comfortable about their safety. Not knowing how financially stressed these people could be, Zolostays has decided to follow a 'No Fixed' fee for rent. However, food and electricity usage will be chargeable. The bio-bubble facilities will include 1,000 beds across Bengaluru, Delhi/NCR, Chennai and Pune and will be available starting Wednesday.
Explaining how these bio-bubbles work, Nikhil Sikri, CEO and co-founder, said, “the only pre-requisite to stay in our bio-bubble facilities is for every person to show us an RT-PCR Covid negative report in order to enter. All basic necessities including Wi-Fi to be able to work remotely, A/C, cable TV, DTH will be provided. Food and snacks will be delivered to their doors in sealed packs and sanitised before entering the property. Even the staff assigned to these facilities will stay put without stepping out. If a resident wants to leave the facility, he or she can re-enter only if they give us an RT-PCR Covid negative report again. The bio-bubble is our way of making a small difference to help those in need.”
From dating to plasma donation
The scarcity of oxygen and plasma has led to demand outstripping supply across the country. To assist with this, dating app TrulyMadly has deployed its matchmaking algorithm to help Covid patients match plasma donors with patients. The feature has been added to the app’s initiative Corona Clusters, which was launched last year to update people on the latest pandemic related data and is used by more than 30 lakh users each month.
“We appeal to people, who have recovered from Covid-19 to come forward, and register on the platform to help save lives of those whose immune system is unable to fight the infection. We wish to help as many people as possible with this initiative and contribute meaningfully in fighting this pandemic” said Snehil Khanor, co-founder and CEO, TrulyMadly.
Over the last few days, one of the most requested features on food delivery platform Zomato has been a selection of home style food for people battling poor health.
“We just launched home style mini-menus with thousands of restaurants across the country. For everyone whose parents are struggling with health, cannot cook, or have no help — please order for them or even better, teach them how to use the Zomato app #RestaurantsAgainstCovid”, tweeted Deepinder Goyal, co-founder and CEO, Zomato.
Zomato has added this feature to locations covering 85 per cent of its order volume by partnering with its restaurant partners. And is adding more such mini menus to existing and new locations on a war footing.