Frenette communicated with the company by telephone, email and the Uber app, but he kept getting the same feedback — always polite, probably scripted and sometimes maddeningly vague — that he did not meet the criteria.

“I was just kind of like, OK, obviously I’m getting jerked around,” he said.

ImageZachary Frenette has been under quarantine for about two weeks with his dog, Teddy.He got a payment of $1,565 on Thursday — after he had gotten the news media involved.

“This is an unprecedented time, so it’s been a challenge for everyone, including us,” said Kayla Whaling, an Uber spokeswoman.

Days into his quarantine, one of his many calls to the company led him to an agent who seemed willing to help.

Frenette complained that he had no way to make money and was still not getting help, the company reactivated his account, essentially allowing him to drive.

“Reactivating someone’s account when a medical professional has stated that they might have been exposed to coronavirus and is under self-quarantine is a careless way to avoid taking responsibility for the financial assistance I’m supposed to receive,” Mr.

Frenette wrote to Uber on March 28.

Frenette said he started to think about how other drivers in similar situations might be faring under the new policy, and what he could do to help.

Frenette got a phone call from a woman at Uber who told him that he was getting an assistance payment

Whaling said

Uber was not immediately able to say how much it has paid drivers so far as part of its coronavirus assistance policy

He is keenly aware that not all drivers would have the time and energy to pursue the help as doggedly as he did

“Because I’m annoying and I create a big firestorm, I’m getting my money and all these other people aren’t,” he said