[allovernow]

Do we know yet what the probability of packaging borne transmission is? Has anyone seen anything? I saw one study describing virus lifetime on various surfaces but I don't think they tested cardboard.

Also I don't know what they're expecting. They either have mountains of stock or they'll be laying these people back off soon when factories close. I think supplies out of China are still disrupted.

[gregschlom]

NPR talked about a study testing cardboard actually. Up to 24h under ideal conditions.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/14/8116090...

Link to study: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217v...

[dave5104]

Same day shipping not sounding so great now!

[allovernow]

That's actually really good news, thank you. You can just leave packages outside for a day or two.

[turbostyler]

Where do you live that you can leave packages outside for more than an hour?

[Mountain_Skies]

My neighborhood has eight houses per acre. We've had no problems with stolen packages even when left out overnight. This is the exurban fringe of metro Atlanta.

[learc83]

You're on the exurban fringe and you're at .125 acre lots?

[Mountain_Skies]

Surprisingly yes. There are also townhouse and apartment complexes. Most homes are on bigger lots but I was surprised by the diversity of housing choices out here.

[allovernow]

Suburbs?

[stevenwoo]

Paranoid thought - what if it's on plastic or exposed steel on something inside the package (like the wrapping on a box or an ladle that doesn't come fully enclosed in a box), you need to wait three days or so.

[allovernow]

I have an old Windex spray bottle that ive filled with rubbing alcohol and I've been blasting everything with extreme paranoia.

Honestly statistically speaking in most areas out chances of coming into contact with the virus are still quite low. There's 300MM+ people here and even if 1MM are infected, those are good odds.

[robocat]

> those are good odds

You are presuming that you are meeting people at random - however you are most likely to meet people with a high number of social interactions, and they are far more likely to catch the virus.

Depending on the social graph, your chances vary, but the chance will clearly be far worse than a crude estimate.

[allovernow]

I don't meet anyone going staying home and going to the store once a week in a mask. That's what we'll all be doing soon.

Well, those who are willing to comply.

[claudeganon]

It’s still awaiting peer review, but initial research suggest 24 hours of stability on cardboard, 2-3 days on plastic and metals:

https://www.wired.com/story/how-long-does-the-coronavirus-la...

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217v...

[the-pigeon]

Out of an abundance of caution I've just been leaving packages in my garage for a week before opening them.

If you have the space and can order stuff a week before you need it, I suggest this.

[WalterBright]

Sunlight (UV exposure) helps kill bugs. If you're not worried about porch pirates, I'd leave the packages in the sun. Perhaps turn them over now and then.

[mark_l_watson]

Almost the same here, leaving them in garage for two days. It feels weird how the new normal, protocols to avoid infection, are starting to seem like the same old routine now. Wonder how it will feel after a few months, or more.

[mrmuagi]

A great suggestion, I do this also. It helps to cleanup packaging in one fell swoop as well.

[divbzero]

Same. Definitely an abundance of caution but if you have the space it can’t hurt.

[op00to]

I'm curious to see if packages and deliveries were seen as transmission vectors in any other infectious epidemics. If packages were a reliable transmission vector, you'd expect to see much higher infection rate of truckers, postal workers, shop clerks, etc. I haven't found evidence of this.

[claudeganon]

I know that China relied heavily on deliveries for food and essential goods in Wuhan, but also seemed to be having people doing deliveries kitted in protective gear.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/08/8129257...

Not sure how this affected transmission, but doubt the same protections will be in place for delivery workers in the US because of shortages masks, gloves, etc.

[anonuser123456]

I'd be much more concerned about the possibility of transmission from packaging / food items bought at your local supermarket.