As the fears over the spread of the novel coronavirus continue to rise, some consumers are now having second thoughts of buying goods that are shipped directly from China. However, medical experts say there is low probability that coronavirus will travel overseas through international packaged.
There is still ongoing research on how long the novel coronavirus can thrive outside a living host and on surfaces, which raises concerns about its longevity on packing material and consumer products shipped from the country where the virus was first observed and where the cases are most dense.
Although there are no finite answers to these question yet, experts are taking into account the longevity of previous coronavirus strains including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV)
In a previous Journal of Hospital Infection that was published on February 6, looking at the length of time coronaviruses like SARS stayed on different surfaces came to a conclusion that human coronaviruses can last on the surface of inanimate objects up to nine days.
According to an infectious diseases specialist from Boston University, Davidson Hamer, the risk of contracting the virus through packages is minimal. However, its potential to stay on a surface for more than four or five days is "a little worrisome" for receiving shipments from China.
He also said that the package could be contaminated if the person handling the package sneezes or coughs, then the item could get contaminated. But the likelihood of this is small and research shows that disinfecting with common household disinfectants can help.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), coronaviruses are usually spread through respiratory droplets released through cough and sneeze.
Whilst similarities of the coronavirus strain that causes COVID-19 to SARS and MERS-CoV is not yet clear, the CDC said that generally since the survivability of the human coronaviruses on surfaces are poor, the risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days and weeks ta ambient temperature is very low.
According to the World Health Organization, it is safe to receive packages from China and doing so will not give the receiver risk or contamination, since in a previous analysis the virus does not thrive long on objects like letters or packages.
Professor Nahid Bhadelia of Fletcher School at Tufts University, who is also an infectious diseases doctor and the medical director of Special Pathogens Unit at Boston University's School of Medicine, that if the similarities with SARS is taken into account, it can be estimated that its probability to survive in dry and flat surfaces, like the outer part of packages, for more than a couple of days is unlikely.
She further added that even in an unlikely setting that any of the viruses survive on the surface of the package for a longer period of time and arrives contaminated, it is still very unlikely to cause and infect those receiving the package.
As of today, the coronavirus has infected more than 88,000 world wide with a death toll reaching more than 3,000.
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