Mail & Package Delivery-Covid 19

No, You Won't Catch The New Coronavirus Via Packages Or Mail From China
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/02/03/801620037/no-you-wont-catch-the-new-coronavirus-via-packages-or-mail-from-china

In an era of online shopping and global shipping, some NPR listeners have written to us with this question: Am I at risk of catching the new coronavirus from a package I receive from China?

Almost certainly no, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures," the CDC concludes in its Q&A.

Infectious disease specialists we spoke with were even more definitive. ---CONTINUED---

Hat Tip to FluWiki, Facebook:

Shocking Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 Can be Transmitted to Online Items Even After 9 Days - Study
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/247688/20200302/shocking-coronavirus-update-covid-19-can-be-transmitted-to-online-items-even-after-9-days-study.htm

(SNIP) ... According to a study made by The Journal of Hospital Infection, non-living things that are most commonly ordered online can also be one of the main carriers of Coronavirus in the country.

With the 22 studies that they'd based on the research, they found out that "human coronavirus can persist on inanimate surfaces like metal, glass or plastic for up to 9 days."

The team led by Günter Kampf, a professor at the University of Greifswald in Germany, observed different materials like plastic, glass, steel, aluminum, metal, wood, paper, ceramic, and others when they are reacted with the same virus strand found on COVID-19. ---CONTINUED---

USPS could shut down by June: ...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8146907/USPS-shut-June-halting-prescriptions-Social-Security-checks-coronavirus.html

The United States Postal Service could grind to a halt by June after a 'drastic' reduction in mail going through the system amid the coronavirus pandemic due to a staffing shakeup and state lockdowns.

Customers have been urged to stay at home and businesses have shuttered to prevent the spread of the illness. Additionally, with at least two dozen employees testing positive for COVID-19, colleagues have been using sick days and annual leave to recover, avoid being infected or to take care of vulnerable loved ones. ---CONTINUEd---

Sanitizing Amazon boxes, taking Uber and getting food properly during the coronavirus pandemic
https://www.foxnews.com/tech/sanitizing-amazon-boxes-taking-uber-and-getting-food-properly-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic

(SNIP) ... Since my 20-plus-year career on national network radio and as a tech columnist focuses strictly on living the best digital life, I see other changes that may not be readily apparent. What the internet and technologies have driven in terms of convenience must now be approached with caution. Let me explain how.

Opening your Amazon boxes and other online orders ---CONTINUED---

How to properly handle Amazon boxes and orders during the coronavirus pandemic
https://www.komando.com/coronavirus/sanitize-packages/711838/

(SNIP) ... If you’re planning on ordering online from shipping services like Amazon, here’s what you need to know about handling your packages, cleaning them and making sure they’re safe enough to bring into your home. ---CONTINUED---

Handling mail amid coronavirus: Low risk but wash your hands
https://cumberlink.com/news/local/handling-mail-amid-coronavirus-low-risk-but-wash-your-hands/article_5c2ced63-8a90-5eaa-b766-ac3718d44845.html

(SNIP) ... Health experts say the risks are very low that COVID-19 will remain on envelopes or packages and infect anyone who handles them. They say, however, to avoid touching your face and wash your hands after handling any deliveries, which have become more important as Americans stay home to reduce the spread of the virus. ---CONTINUED---

The health risks to individuals bringing packages into their home is very low, but the risk to those handling thousands of packages every day in sorting centers and delivering hundreds every day on the routes, is another story.

From the above link:

Health experts say the risks are very low that COVID-19 will remain on envelopes or packages and infect anyone who handles them. They say, however, to avoid touching your face and wash your hands after handling any deliveries, which have become more important as Americans stay home to reduce the spread of the virus.

Payne, who delivers to more than 800 mailboxes a day in a town about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Chattanooga, said her post office constantly wipes down door handles and has provided plenty of gloves.

I signed up for a USPS personal account. You have to have a CC or Paypal account.

I can print out postage, slap it on the envelope/box, leave the envelope in the box for the mailman, or a note in the box for him to pick up the package on the table by the porch. It's working out well.

Most package delivery people have gloves on.

We initially handle it with gloves, use hand sanitizer, and spray what we can with Lysol. We're still letting the stuff sit outside or in the garage for a few days before we touch it to open it.

Regular mail, I'm just handling with gloves, spraying with Lysol and then throwing packaging away.

All this is basically what has been suggested in the articles.

Most of our business is conducted online, so we really don't have a lot of actual mail - just junk that we can throw out right away.

The few times I've paid with money lately, I've wiped a bleach cloth over the bills, front and back and over the envelope I put them in.

That cashless society seems to be about to become the way of the future.

The few times I've paid with money lately, I've wiped a bleach cloth over the bills, front and back and over the envelope I put them in.

Bet you'd be upset if the bleach turned them white

That cashless society seems to be about to become the way of the future.

I hope we don't let them do that to us.
Courage.

TRex2 wrote:

The few times I've paid with money lately, I've wiped a bleach cloth over the bills, front and back and over the envelope I put them in.

Bet you'd be upset if  the bleach turned them white  

I know - I thought about it as I was doing it...but I was careful...

That cashless society seems to be about to become the way of the future.

I hope we don't let them do that to us.
Courage.

It is scary how easy it would be to track in a cashless society. It already freaks me out that Walmart can print out a receipt I paid a month ago for a return, when I lost the receipt...they are keeping EVERYTHING on file. I was quite alarmed.