The Postal Service is sharing guidance from public health organizations and other authorities that have stated there’s no evidence the coronavirus is spread through the mail.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the virus is spread through respiratory droplets, and there is currently no evidence to support the transmission of COVID-19 with package shipments.
“In general, because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures,” CDC states on its website.
In a frequently asked questions section on its website, the World Health Organization (WHO) addresses concerns about the safety of receiving packages from areas where COVID-19 has been reported.
“The likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low and the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package that has been moved, travelled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low,” WHO states.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams has also weighed in. “There is no evidence right now that the coronavirus can be spread through mail,” he said recently.
Additionally, during a television interview last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke about the likelihood of the coronavirus being transmitted through things like mail and package delivery.
“I don’t think we need to get completely obsessed about packages that come in because those types of surfaces — the virus might live there for a very short time,” Fauci said. “But people say, ‘Should I get a package from a grocery store that says made in China?’ I wouldn’t worry about that. That’s not the issue.”
