By Noor Zainab Hussain | Reuters

DoorDash Inc said on Thursday it would cut commissions by half for its more than 150,000 local restaurant partners in the United States, Canada, and Australia, as the new coronavirus outbreak stops people from dining out.

The $100 million commission relief program will begin on April 13 and continue through the end of May, the food delivery startup said.

Restaurants need the financial relief. They face an expected drop in diners as governments impose restrictions to curb the spread of the outbreak.

SoftBank Group Corp-backed DoorDash, which filed for an initial public offering in February, has already promised financial assistance to eligible Dashers and Caviar couriers who contract COVID-19 or get quarantined.

Online food delivery company GrubHub said last month that it would temporarily suspend collecting commission fees of up to $100 million from independent U.S. restaurants hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

Rival Postmates had also said it would waive off commission fees from small businesses in San Francisco due to a decline in sales and traffic.