ecommerce companies will have to steer through the twin challenges of delivering in time the expanding number of orders from customers and keeping their workforce safe over the coming weeks even as the number of covid cases across the country continue to soar according to industry executives various state governments have announced weekend curfews and lockdowns to rein in the second wave of the pandemic which is seeing a record number of cases being reported daily most states have allowed delivery of essentials via ecommerce delhi for example has announced a lockdown from 10 pm on april 19 that will end at 5 am the following monday movement of people engaged in delivery of essential goods including food pharmaceuticals medical equipment through ecommerce has been allowed advt indias total tally of covid19 cases has crossed 150 crore with a record singleday rise of 273810 new coronavirus infections while the active cases surpassed the 19lakh mark according to the union health ministry data updated on monday an amazon india spokesperson said currently it is enabling deliveries of essential products in line with new guidelines set by the government however we have learnt from customers over the last one year that urgent needs vary across households and it is challenging to define a static essentials list we request the delhi government to allow delivery and interintra state movement of all products to enable people to maintain social distancing norms the spokesperson said ecommerce is the safest way to serve consumers needs while supporting livelihoods of lakhs of small and medium businesses including the local shops the spokesperson added over the past few weeks the demand in categories like grocery essential items like sanitisers and masks books consumer electronics and appliances has gone up across various parts of the country while players are ramping up efforts to deliver these larger orders in time they anticipate some delays too due to covid19 related restriction on movement in the city by local administration your deliveries might get delayed said a note on bigbaskets app advt a senior executive at a leading ecommerce company said the industry could face tough times ahead given the continuous rise in covid19 cases being seen over the last couple of days across major cities while the situation is being constantly monitored and contingency measures are being put in place to handle the situation there is added pressure as many employees and their families are now unwell the executive said leadership teams have stepped up efforts and are also reaching out to employees to keep their morale high during these tough times the executive said grofers another egrocery delivery platform said it has built deeper collaborations with its manufacturing merchant and brand partners to meet the increase in demand and prevent supply disruption and expressed confidence that there is sufficient stocks with some state governments already announcing stricter lockdown norms we are also ramping up our capacities to serve more consumers safely and securely it said in a blogpost grofers also