New Delhi, May 6 (IANS): Food delivery platform Swiggy on Thursday announced to prioritise Genie deliveries -- the company's pick up and drop service -- as India is witnessing increasing Covid-19 cases in the second wave of coronavirus.

All Genie orders will have dedicated customer care support. The prioritisation of Swiggy Genie orders will be of immense help for those recovering at home or taking care of someone with medical necessities, grocery needs or home cooked meals, the company said in a statement.

"We are overwhelmed with messages from consumers expressing how Swiggy Genie has been a lifeline in these tough times. With several cities under lockdown, and family or friends to take care of, Swiggy Genie has delivered necessities like home-cooked meals, OTC medicines, test reports and grocery to the doorsteps of Indians," Vivek Sunder, COO at Swiggy said, in the statement.

"Considering the criticality of the service, we are now prioritising Genie deliveries. We urge users to stay indoors and we will do our best to get them whatever they need while also keeping the safety of our partners top of mind," Sundar said.

Swiggy is also directly working with hundreds of Covid Heroes who are providing meals to affected families and will prioritise these deliveries as well.

The platform witnessed a 350 per cent increase in the delivery of OTC medicines through Swiggy Genie, present in 65 cities across the country, in the last 15 days compared to the same period last month.

Almost half a million home cooked meals and tiffins have been ferried to friends and family in the same period. Covid Heroes, who are selflessly cooking meals to help those in need have been using the service to help those in need.