CAN YOU GET CORONAVIRUS FROM PACKING MATERIAL?

Though we are calling the present outbreak of super flu using the general name coronavirus, the actual name is COVID-19, ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona,’ ‘VI’ for ‘virus,’ and ‘D’ for disease.*
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I have wondered whether we can get COVID-19 from packaging material.  Based on the behavier of previous coronavirus outbreaks like MERS and particularly genetically related SARS, it appears that packing materials are not a problem.
About 81% of people who are infected with the coronavirus have mild cases of COVID-19, according to a study published Feb. 18 by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. About 13.8% report severe illness, meaning they have shortness of breath, or require supplemental oxygen, and about 4.7% are critical, meaning they face respiratory failure, multi-organ failure or septic shock. The data thus far suggests that only around 2.3% of people infected with COVID-19 die from the virus. People who are older or have underlying health conditions seem to be most at risk of having severe disease or complications. While there's no need to panic, people should take steps to prepare and protect themselves and others from the new coronavirus.
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A past study found that these related coronaviruses can stay on surfaces such as metal, glass or plastic for as long as nine days, according to a study published Feb. 6 in The Journal of Hospital Infection. But the surfaces present in packaging are not ideal for the virus to survive.

For a virus to remain viable, it needs a combination of specific environmental conditions such as temperature, lack of UV exposure and humidity — a combination you won't get in shipping packages, according to Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, Senior Scholar, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, who spoke with Live Science's sister site Tom's Hardware.*

When bringing home groceries and packages or having them delivered, it is a good idea to wash your hands after putting things away because of recent contacts with other people.  But this is true for the flu also.


* https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-myths.html
See index at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html and
 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html