Does Covid Spread Through Surfaces?
If you have the time, read: https://www.aba.com/news-research/references-guides/confronting-covid-analysis-surface-contamination-risks
If you are (an elderly high risk person) isolating at home, you are not at risk. To be extra cautious, wash your vegetables and dairy packages in plain water, and leave non perishables untouched for 24 hours.
"It is very difficult to became infected with SARS-CoV-2 via contaminated surface transmission."
"It is possible to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 through indirect transmission, but it appears to be exceedingly rare, and a whole series of factors must occur to make it happen."
"If it is a standard mail or courier shipment, the risk is de minimis and should be considered safe."
"If it is a same-day delivery, it is still likely safe, and if left to sit for 12-24 hours at room temperature the risks become de minimis as well."
"Items brought home such as groceries and office supplies are likely safe. If you are concerned you can wipe down your groceries, but for non-perishable items, letting them sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours or longer brings the risk to near zero."
A lot of folks isolating at home are obsessing about cleaning packages and food deliveries. No use. No point. Even if you miss a package here or there, don't fret over it - remember, stress reduces your immunity, so not stressing is more important than cleaning 100% of your packages.
So, focus all of your energy on one thing - person to person contact. Putting all your energy into avoiding touching packages, while getting your face within a meter of a delivery guy while you're not wearing a mask - that's not smart. Stuff is not toxic; people can be.
When you get a delivery, ask the guy through your closed maindoor to drop off the packages outside your home. Once he has left, pick them up and drop them off in a holding area in your house. Then just wash your hands. Don't worry about the bags infecting you. Don't worry about the virus lingering in aerosols outside your house once the delivery guy has left.
Outside of your home, it is possible to catch Covid from high touch surfaces in public areas like malls. But you'd have to touch an obviously messy surface like a bathroom door knob, then rub your hands over your face before you've had a chance to wash your hands. If you read through the article, you'll realise that's fairly unlikely, given how we are all wearing masks, avoiding touching our faces, and washing/sanitizing hands frequently.
We have to focus on the thing that is causing 99%+ of the infections - people to people contact. Trying to minimise that <1% transmission happening thought surfaces and aerosols will just give you stress, not results.
PS: I have a (conspiracy) theory that the media's focus on surfaces and aerosols is a deliberate attempt at misinformation. I think it serves the interest of governments if people think, "We don't know, we can't control how this virus spreads. There are so many ways it can spread. Isolating won't help either because it'll just jump at me from my packages. So let's get out and work, shop, spend, earn." Decades ago, it was discovered that cigarettes cause lung cancer. Tobacco companies spent millions on scientific research that said,"well there are many other causes for lung cancer too". The media carried this research without saying "but cigarettes are still the cause of 90%+ lung cancer cases". Don't be fooled by the overwhelming number of articles on surface contamination. Just focus on keeping a distance from people, wearing a mask, washing your hands, not touching your face.
If you have the time, read: https://www.aba.com/news-research/references-guides/confronting-covid-analysis-surface-contamination-risks
If you are (an elderly high risk person) isolating at home, you are not at risk. To be extra cautious, wash your vegetables and dairy packages in plain water, and leave non perishables untouched for 24 hours.
"It is very difficult to became infected with SARS-CoV-2 via contaminated surface transmission."
"It is possible to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 through indirect transmission, but it appears to be exceedingly rare, and a whole series of factors must occur to make it happen."
"If it is a standard mail or courier shipment, the risk is de minimis and should be considered safe."
"If it is a same-day delivery, it is still likely safe, and if left to sit for 12-24 hours at room temperature the risks become de minimis as well."
"Items brought home such as groceries and office supplies are likely safe. If you are concerned you can wipe down your groceries, but for non-perishable items, letting them sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours or longer brings the risk to near zero."
A lot of folks isolating at home are obsessing about cleaning packages and food deliveries. No use. No point. Even if you miss a package here or there, don't fret over it - remember, stress reduces your immunity, so not stressing is more important than cleaning 100% of your packages.
So, focus all of your energy on one thing - person to person contact. Putting all your energy into avoiding touching packages, while getting your face within a meter of a delivery guy while you're not wearing a mask - that's not smart. Stuff is not toxic; people can be.
When you get a delivery, ask the guy through your closed maindoor to drop off the packages outside your home. Once he has left, pick them up and drop them off in a holding area in your house. Then just wash your hands. Don't worry about the bags infecting you. Don't worry about the virus lingering in aerosols outside your house once the delivery guy has left.
Outside of your home, it is possible to catch Covid from high touch surfaces in public areas like malls. But you'd have to touch an obviously messy surface like a bathroom door knob, then rub your hands over your face before you've had a chance to wash your hands. If you read through the article, you'll realise that's fairly unlikely, given how we are all wearing masks, avoiding touching our faces, and washing/sanitizing hands frequently.
We have to focus on the thing that is causing 99%+ of the infections - people to people contact. Trying to minimise that <1% transmission happening thought surfaces and aerosols will just give you stress, not results.
PS: I have a (conspiracy) theory that the media's focus on surfaces and aerosols is a deliberate attempt at misinformation. I think it serves the interest of governments if people think, "We don't know, we can't control how this virus spreads. There are so many ways it can spread. Isolating won't help either because it'll just jump at me from my packages. So let's get out and work, shop, spend, earn." Decades ago, it was discovered that cigarettes cause lung cancer. Tobacco companies spent millions on scientific research that said,"well there are many other causes for lung cancer too". The media carried this research without saying "but cigarettes are still the cause of 90%+ lung cancer cases". Don't be fooled by the overwhelming number of articles on surface contamination. Just focus on keeping a distance from people, wearing a mask, washing your hands, not touching your face.