Coronavirus scare leads Uber to suspend 240 users' accounts in Mexico

MEXICO CITY: The coronavirus scare has led ride-hailing app Uber to suspend accounts of some 240 users in Mexico who may have been in contact with drivers that ferried a person suspected of having the deadly virus.

Over 300 people have died from the novel coronavirus in mainland China and although more than 100 people have been infected outside the country, Mexico has not reported a confirmed case.

The ride-hailing app said Mexico City health authorities requested information in January on a possible carrier of coronavirus, with Uber finding two drivers who transported the suspected individual before driving a further 240 people.

"On Friday, January 31, we heard from the Secretary of Health of Mexico City, through a request for information, regarding a user identified as a possible carrier of the coronavirus," the company said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"We have proceeded to send information to these two drivers and the 240 users regarding the temporary deactivation of their accounts," it added. "We will remain attentive to the indications or requests of the authorities, in a coordinated way, to work for the safety of all."

Mexico's Ministry of Health said it continues to monitor people who may have had contact with the possible coronavirus carrier — identified as a tourist of Chinese origin — who subsequently left the country.

"Of the contacts identified so far, none have developed symptoms of the disease more than 10 days after exposure, which exceeds the average incubation time," the authorities said in a report.

Also on Saturday, Mexico said it had evacuated 10 people from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.