Moscow businessman tries life as deliveryman during pandemic

A Moscow businessman tired of being stuck at home roaming the internet due to the coronavirus lockdown has temporarily switched to the low-paid but physically active job of delivering meals. Sergey Nochovnyy, 38, said he hasn't lost his own business and that he signed up with a major delivery company because he wanted to “look at life from another angle” and get outdoors amid the restrictions imposed on movement.

Authorities in the Russian capital have ordered most Muscovites who don't work in vital industries to stay home in an effort to stymie the spread of the coronavirus. Only visits to nearby stores and pharmacies are allowed, and the lockdown has spurred demand for delivery services. While people infected with the coronavirus often experience mild or moderate symptoms, possible complications like pneumonia can put their lives at risk.

Nochovnyy said he walks an average of 20 kilometers (12 miles) a day to deliver food. The businessman, who returned to Russia last year after spending 12 years in China, makes 1,000-1,500 rubles (USD 13-20) a day as a deliveryman. His consulting business was making about USD 2 million a year, Nochovnyy said. He added that the new job offers him the physical activity that he was desperately missing amid the lockdown, and a break from endlessly roaming the internet. He said he found it strange that people don't notice deliverymen despite their bright yellow uniform.