Handling Mail: Low risk but WASH YOUR HANDS [View all]

[superpatriotman]

But “our biggest thing is the post office can’t get hand sanitizer, can’t get any supplies,” she said.

That sent one co-worker to a Walmart to stock up on 12 canisters of sanitizing wipes, Payne said. Without the Postal Service providing much disinfectant, Payne brings a can of Lysol to spray down the surfaces she touches.

Tests led by U.S. government scientists found that the virus can live on cardboard for up to a day, but that was in a controlled lab situation and does not reflect what might happen in daily life or with other materials, such as envelopes, said Julie Fischer, a microbiologist at Georgetown University's global health security research center.

In the real world, packages and envelopes face varying weather conditions that affect how long the virus can live on them, she said. Even if the virus was on the mail, it would need to make its way to your mouth or nose to cause infection.

"As long as you wash your hands thoroughly and regularly after opening it and don't touch your nose and mouth ... that mail itself, that package, poses very little risk," Fischer said.

https://www.local10.com/business/2020/03/27/handling-mail-amid-coronavirus-low-risk-but-wash-your-hands/