Shane Stephen, a Deliveroo rider, pulls a snood over his mouth and nose as he manoeuvres his mountain bike down a narrow side-street in central London. It is his makeshift defence against coronavirus.

“If I catch something I’m screwed,” explains the 23-year-old. “Gig economy workers can’t afford to be ill. My bank balance is literally £4 something right now.”

Stephen – like tens of thousands of other couriers and drivers in the UK – is classed as self-employed and therefore not entitled to any sick pay. He stands to gain nothing from Boris Johnson’s pledge last Wednesday to give coronavirus-hit workers statutory sick pay from the first day off work rather than the fourth.

Yet Stephen and other gig economy couriers could be called on to deliver food and other essentials to self-isolating households when the virus reaches its peak.

Some industry analysts foresee the number of home deliveries doubling if people are told to work from home and avoid large gatherings under the government’s so-called social-distancing strategy, which will kick in if the virus continues to spread across the country.

Unions representing gig economy workers, such as the GMB and Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), fear couriers with coronavirus symptoms may keep working. “Many will carry on because they need to put food on the table and pay the rent. They will then come into contact with other people and spread the virus,” says Mick Rix from the GMB, which represents thousands of couriers. “This would be going against everything the government is trying to achieve at the moment.”

The GMB struck a deal last week with Hermes, under which 15,000 couriers will be paid normally if they have to stay at home. “We raised the lack of sick pay with them, and they immediately recognised it would be a problem,” he said. But he adds that Hermes is the only major courier company that has so far agreed to help workers confined to their homes.

Jason Moyer-Lee, IWGB general secretary, welcomes the media’s renewed focus on the gig economy. “Precarious workers should not be losing out financially for following public health guidelines,” he says. “But this is a problem they have on a regular basis – they cannot take time off when they are sick or injured.”

Back on the streets of London, drivers are doing what they can to limit new cases of coronavirus. Josh Lane (not his real name) jumps into his DPD Local van after making a delivery in Tottenham. He cleans his hands with hand sanitiser. “I’m in a rush, but I’m doing my bit,” he says through the rolled-down window.

This is a problem they have on a regular basis – they cannot take time off when they are sick or injured Jason Moyer-Lee, IWGB

However, the 30-year-old cannot afford to stop work if he contracts the virus. “It’s like a flu and I’ve worked through flu before. If you’re self-employed you have to continue working,” he says. “It’s not about me. I’ve got three children. I’m not about to make them starve because of coronavirus. If I’m physically able to work, then isolation is not happening for me.”

Lane claims that DPD has only been in touch to ask drivers to avoid travelling to the worst-affected countries. He admits continuing to drop packages might spread the virus. “That’s a risk I would have to take,” he adds.

Other Deliveroo riders have been messaging Stephen. A Glasgow rider says she wouldn’t be able to afford to take time off: “I can barely take a day off as it is … I won’t be telling Deliveroo.” An Edinburgh rider says he would have to “work by taking precautions” if he fell ill as “universal credit … is five weeks away”. A Newcastle rider says “he wouldn’t be able to pay the bills” if he took time off.

Unions scoff at Johnson’s claim that self-employed workers not entitled to statutory sick pay could apply for universal credit instead. Rix says affected gig economy couriers could not afford to wait for their first payment. “Many of these workers are on the breadline. They can’t wait five weeks and they won’t be able to go in for an assessment anyway because they will be self-isolated,” he says.

DPD says it is looking at ways to provide additional support and will be making a further announcement shortly. “All DPD drivers have a choice of being employed directly by DPD, being on a worker contract, or being self-employed,” it adds. Deliveroo says it is considering offering financial support to affected riders in the UK.

Riders like Stephen, however, could do with some reassurance now. “I delivered to a guy who was sweating buckets on Monday – I thought, ‘Shit, this is it,’” he says, checking his phone for his next job. “You’d think Deliveroo would want to keep their riders safe – and if they don’t, then the government should step in.”