Coronavirus pandemic: Newspapers considered safe to touch, says World Health Organisation
The World Health Organisation says newspapers are safe to touch as News Corp Australia takes additional measures to keep readers and employees safe from coronavirus.
National
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Readers can be assured receiving and flicking through the pages of newspapers is still considered safe, according to the World Health Organisation.
Additionally, News Corp Australia – publisher of this paper – is adding extra measures to keep readers and employees safe.
News Corp’s network of newspaper distributors have been instructed to wear gloves and while most of the production process is automated, employees are undertaking additional sanitising before and after going to press.
IS IT SAFE TO GET THE PAPER DELIVERED?
It has been deemed safe to receive packages such as newspapers, even from areas which have reported cases of COVID-19.
According to the World Health Organisation: “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”.
America’s Centre for Disease Control also advised consumers that coronavirus had “a very low risk” of spreading on packages, newspapers, and other mail due to the “poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces”.
Australia’s Chief Medical Office Brendan Murphy said the “small potential exposure risk” of contracting a virus from plastic could be minimised by washing your hands after touching products from outside your home.
“Readers can minimise the risk by following good hand hygiene practices and avoiding sharing copies outside of the home, in cafes and libraries,” he said.
“Hand hygiene means washing hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water or rubbing your hands with alcohol-based hand rub for about a minute, immediately after touching frequently touched surfaces and objects.”
Originally published as Coronavirus pandemic: Newspapers considered safe to touch, says World Health Organisation
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