Dr Perpetua Emeagi, a lecturer in Human Biology and Biological Sciences at Liverpool Hope University, says that handling letters and parcels is an ‘open invitation’ for coronavirus to spread.
She wants to see people adopting an immediate ‘open it, read it, and bin it’ strategy in order to stop Covid-19 spreading to more homes through the letterbox.
Dr Emeagi, a specialist in public health and vaccine development, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘You simply do not know who or what your mail has come into contact with before it arrives at your home.
‘And while it might seem innocuous, it’s very easy to underestimate how letters and parcels could act as a carrier of Coronavirus. It’s an open invitation.
‘There’s some evidence to suggest the virus could be viable for up to seven days outside the human body.
‘Surfaces like cardboard and plastic are now known to be an effective safe-haven for Coronavirus – precisely the sort of thing used to package parcels and letters.
‘And if you’re leaving your post around your home, bringing into your kitchen and communal areas, you’re leaving yourself open to infection.’
Dr Emeagi advises following the open it, read it, bin it rule to avoid having unhygienic envelopes and packaging materials hanging around your home.
She suggest: ‘As soon as you pick up your post, open it, read it, file it, perhaps take a photo of the important information on your mobile phone, and then safely dispose of it.
‘Do not leave it lying around and take extra care not to allow it to come into contact with other surfaces.
‘And make sure you bin the envelope as well as what’s inside it.
‘You then need to immediately wash your hands, for the recommended 20 seconds, and follow all the usual precautions including cleaning your phone with ethanol-based wipes.’
Dr Emeagi says that this strategy is also a safer bet than putting your mail into some sort of holding quarantine for a period of days until you’re satisfied any bacteria has subsided and coronavirus is degraded. – READ MORE HERE
….
There’s no evidence that the new coronavirus can survive on packages for 28 days – Full Fact
Claim: Coronaviruses can live on surfaces for up to 28 days, so you should be careful if you receive a package from China.