Should You Disinfect Your Packages?

With social distancing and isolation becoming the norm, during the corona virus pandemic, a large number of people are actively avoiding the crowds at the grocery store and other such facilities and doing their shopping online. However, the things that you order on the internet are not sterile. The each have likely been touched and handled by many hands, the person who put your food or item in the package, the person who loaded it onto a truck, the person who hands you your package, and it goes on and on.

In a guide that I read recently dealing with cleaning and disinfecting of homes that have suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that "novel COVID-19 may remain viable for hours to days on surfaces made from a variety of materials." It is thought that this virus could stay alive on cardboard for up to 24 hours, according to a study conducted by members of the Laboratory of Virology with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.According to the research the actual study was conducted rather small scale and has not yet been published nor peer-reviewed. In general, because of the poor life span  of these COVID-19 germs on surfaces, there is likely to be a very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures.