How to accept deliveries safely as online shopping on all products resumes

Perhaps one of the few positives in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic quarantines that have been instituted by various countries across the globe is that the online shopping industry has seen an marked increased as people order items from their homes. But how do you keep receiving online deliveries while keeping your family safe from contracting the disease. Follow these quick tips to keep safe:

Use reputable online retailers

Even though online shopping has ramped up due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is still important that you ensure that the online businesses you order from are acting responsibly when it comes to their hygiene practices. Uber eats South Africa for example has added a new no contact delivery option to their service where you can opt for “Leave at door” button at checkout.

Does it spread on packages

There’s no clear answer. Rachel Graham an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina says,” The lifespan of the novel virus on any surface is “likely hours to a day or so. So it’s possible that the virus could lurk on a box.” Yet at the same time Elizabeth McGraw, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Pennsylvania State University says, “If we had transmission via packages we would have seen immediate global spread out of China early in the outbreak. We did not see that and therefore I think the risk is incredibly low.”

Err on the side of caution

Therefore since not enough is known about this virus it’s better for you and your family’s saftey to err on the side of caution and assume that the package has the virus and handle it with gloves etc.