Can the virus survive on a package long enough to get you sick? We set out to VERIFY.
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THE QUESTION
Joy Johnson messaged us on
Facebook, asking "Can I get Coronavirus from a package being delivered from China?"
That's a great question.
Here’s what we found out.
THE ANSWER
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the answer is no.
WHAT WE FOUND
Medical experts say the Coronavirus can only survive on inanimate objects for a few hours, maybe a day or two in perfect laboratory conditions.
"The time it would take to get here would be plenty of time for the virus to lose its viability," Infectious Diseases Director Kris Ehresmann says.
And according to FedEx, the fastest a package could get to Minnesota from China is about four days.
So, doing some basic math, even under the perfect conditions, the virus wouldn't be able to survive long enough to get you sick.
"If you set up the perfectly bad scenario where you ordered your favorite thing from China and the person who packaged it sneezed on the box, by the time it got to you in Minnesota the virus would not be a concern," Ehresmann says.