I am confident that on reading the article heading you must’ve thought “what the heck?”. Trust me, I had the same reaction while I was sitting with some friends this weekend, and one of them said that coronavirus can spread via eCommerce deliveries.

India being a huge importer of Chinese goods has banned shipments and deliveries from China due to the fear of coronavirus being transmitted. Now I genuinely believe that it falls more in the case of hearsay, but it grabbed my attention, afterall coronavirus is no small deal; tens of thousands are affected and the death toll in China itself has crossed 1700 (per WHO report.).

Worry, curiosity and fear made me research on: Is it possible for coronavirus to spread through eCommerce deliveries? Here is what I found.

Delivery packages (non-living) from China will not give you Coronavirus.

The Director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Dr. Nancy Messonier said that coronaviruses have an extremely low survival rate on surfaces at ambient temperatures. Below is her comment during a press meet (source: Denver Post)

Not only your health, but coronavirus is also impacting the eCommerce industry both in a negative and positive way.

• eCommerce giants have seen a huge spike in demand for product(s) that help in coronavirus prevention like face masks, hand sanitizers, etc.
• It has negatively impacted the entire supply chain, as China, being the world’s leading exporter has shut down factories and imposed a restriction in deliveries owing to curb the virus transmission from its shores to the rest of the world. Resulting in delays in product deliveries throughout the globe.

A lesson for me and all of us.

Please stop believing in hearsays. Until and unless you receive information from reliable sources, refrain from adding fuel to the fire. I’ve come across news bytes of people abandoning Chinese cuisine due to coronavirus. Imagine catching some virus affecting people in Italy by eating a pizza cooked in a nearby café.

The only reliable information source, giving constant updates on this epidemic is the World Health Organization. Visit their social media handles and consume the information first-hand, which is true and gives a clear picture of the virus: symptoms, prevention, the status of cure, etc.