Major self-driving car companies have suspended their testing programs, citing coronavirus contagion fears.

Alphabet Inc.-owned Waymo was the first company to suspend testing, also stopping its taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona, for vehicles that require a support driver. Notably, the company’s fully automated driverless taxi, delivery and trucking services are continuing operation, but Waymo suspended its self-driving testing program.

General Motors Co.’s Cruise LLC followed suit, saying that it has closed its San Francisco office for three weeks and suspended all operations, including vehicle testing. The company noted that test operators will be fully paid for any days they would have worked over the period.

Uber Technologies Inc.’s Advanced Technology Group has also stopped all testing. “Our goal is to help flatten the curve of community spread,” Uber ATG Chief Executive Officer Eric Meyhofer in a statement. “Following recent guidance from local and state officials in areas where we operate our self-driving vehicles, we are pausing all test track and on-road testing until further notice.”

Amazon.com Inc.-backed Aurora Innovation Inc. has suspended all testing as well, cloing its offices until April 7. Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Chris Urmson said on LinkedIn that though the company’s physical officers may be temporarily closed, development and virtual testing work would continue.

Argo AI Inc., based in Pittsburgh, told VentureBeat that though the company hasn’t experienced a “significant impact” from COVID-19, it has taken steps to allow employees to work from home, including pausing car testing operations at all of its locations.

Other companies to have ceased testing include Pony.ai, Baidu Inc., Zoox Inc., Nuro Inc. and Yandex NV.

One notable exception is the Intel Corp.-owned Mobileye, which conducts the majority of its testing in Israel. The country was one of the first to deny entry to foreign visitors as COVID-19 spread. The country is in near-total lockdown, but the spread of a virus has been handled far better than other countries.

As the Verge pointed out, the fact that self-driving car companies are being forced to suspend testing to protect employees highlights how a technology designed to be human-free still relies on a workforce of contract laborers at almost every level. That may be a generous take, too, as it could be argued that despite more than a decade of promises, most companies have yet to provide safe autonomous vehicles.

Photo: Aurora Innovation