Some Amazon drivers have said they want customers to stop greeting them face-to-face amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control has said that the novel coronavirus is thought to spread mainly through respiratory droplets and between people in close contact, which is defined as within a distance of six feet.

One driver said customers should refrain from opening their doors during deliveries. “If they see us and want to wave, that’s fine,” she said. “But for their safety and ours, it would be best for them to wait until we leave.”

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Delivery workers’ jobs have become more critical than ever as online orders surge amid worries over the coronavirus pandemic.

In interviews with Business Insider, four Amazon drivers revealed how they are trying to stay safe on the job, while managing growing demand.

Some are wearing gloves and regularly wiping down surfaces in their trucks. One driver said she is spraying cleaning fluid on her gloves after every delivery. Two drivers said they are trying to maintain safe distances from other workers at the warehouses where they pick up their deliveries.

Asked if there’s anything Amazon customers could be doing to help them, all four requested that customers stop greeting them during deliveries.

“I think that it would be great if they didn’t open the door,” said a North Carolina-based driver for an Amazon delivery service partner, or third-party courier. “If they see us and want to wave, that’s fine. But for their safety and ours, it would be best for them to wait until we leave.”

This driver and others spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

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“They don’t know what we have because we are traveling so much, and we don’t know what they have,” she said.

The Centers for Disease Control has said that the novel coronavirus is thought to spread mainly through respiratory droplets and between people in close contact, which is defined as within a distance of six feet. The virus can live for up to one day on cardboard and up to three days on plastic, according to a National Institutes of Health study.

A driver for Amazon’s Flex delivery service said Amazon should send a message out to all customers asking them to avoid greeting delivery workers.

“They need to reach out to customers and say, ‘Hey, don’t meet your driver at the door,'” he said.

A Florida-based driver said he’s worried about contracting the illness and feels inclined to drop packages on the ground and back away when customers approach him. But he’s concerned that behavior could impact his ratings, as Amazon customers can rate and review their deliveries.

“From what I’ve experienced, a lot of the customers aren’t taking it that seriously,” he said, referring to the number of people who have greeted him during deliveries.

Asked what message he would give to customers, he said: “Let me drop it in front of your house. Dont’ come out to greet me.”

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.