Can You Get Coronavirus Through The Mail?

When Jean-Paul Sartre said, "Hell is other people," he had no idea that the coronavirus, COVID-19, would prove him right on a pandemic level. As of this writing, Business Insider reports that at that least 110 countries have confirmed case of the virus, which has infected more than 128,000 people and killed at least 4,700. Hoping to stem the spread, organizations and individuals are taking steps to get the hell away from each other.

According to the Harvard Crimson, Harvard University gave undergraduates five days to vacate school grounds. The NBA suspended the rest of its season indefinitely after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. And as of this writing, nine members of Congress have self-quarantined due to exposure, says CNN. With more postal and parcel services will play a vital role in acquiring food and other necessities and paying rent. But what happens if a package handler catches the coronavirus?

CBS notes that many of the packages people receive through Amazon and other distance retail companies come from China, where the coronavirus outbreak began. An Amazon employee in Seattle Washington came down with the virus, and according to Kiro 7, a Seattle-based USPS distribution center employee tested positive as well. Should you set every letter and delivery on fire before opening it just to be on the safe side?

Unless your mailman is delivering a COVID-19 patient to your door, you shouldn't worry. NYU professor Dr. Jack Caravanos told CBS that it was "highly improbable" that the virus would survive in transit. Dr. Michael Merson seconded that opinion, noting that "shipping conditions are usually not conducive to the virus remaining viable." Those conditions include exposure to unfavorable temperatures and surfaces. The main mode of transmission is person-to-person, so wash your hands properly and often, and remember that, at least when it comes to coronavirus — hell is other people.