The virus would have to be super potent. Or covered in faecal matter.
You ordered some product from Shadmart.com a few weeks back, and now your online shopping delivery from China has arrived at your doorstep as the Wuhan virus is in full swing.
Should you open your package and risk getting sick from catching the novel #coronavirus?
Well, here’s some good news.
The odds of catching the Wuhan virus from such a scenario is quite low or you may say its quite impossible.
“We do not have any warehouse or any employee from Wuhan or have visited Wuhan within the last few months”
Shadmart.com has no direct connection with Wuhan as our warehouse is located in Guangzhou, which is 982 KM far from Wuhan. Moreover, we do not send parcels directly to Bangladesh.
Our suppliers sends the products to our Warehouse, we collect different products and package the order, then ship it to our shipper. Our shipper sends the goods to our Bangladesh office and then we deliver the goods at our customer’s door step. Therefore, your parcels are not sent directly to tour doorsteps from China. As a result, it is quite impossible to spread the virus by our parcels.
Chances of catching virus via mail is quite low
This is at least according to one Malaysian doctor who answered this query, as reported by Sin Chew Daily.
Christopher Lee, a doctor from Sungai Buloh Hospital, who is also the National Advisor for Infectious Diseases in the Ministry of Health in Malaysia, gave a few reasons why he thinks it is relatively safe to accept parcels from China.
Lee said all parcels from China take at least 24 hours to reach its destination.
This shipping duration cuts the risk of transmission of the novel #coronavirus, as the virus cannot survive on non-living things for long periods of time.
Lee rationalized that since 2019-nCoV is categorized as a #coronavirus, the way it is spread would be similar to SARS and MERS — #coronavirus variants that are harmful to humans.
Lee was quoted as saying: “The SARS virus will survive longer — up to a few days — in a damp or wet environment. However, on dry surfaces like plastic, the virus can only live up to a few hours.”
Referencing the SARS virus, he said pathogens will only survive outside of the human body for a few hours and up to four days in faecal matter.
China post taking other precautions
For more peace of mind, other measures are being taken in China to curb the spread of the Wuhan virus.
China Post’s Express Mail Service (EMS) has announced that it will delay all the shipping orders to double-disinfect the goods.
A translated message by EMS said: “To ensure the public’s safety, we will ‘double-disinfect’ the parcels and the vehicles that will go through Wuhan, delaying the shipping progress.”
But if you’re still really concerned, you can opt to leave your parcel aside for a few days under the sun after you received it.
Sunshine will do its job as a natural disinfectant.
