Can We Get Coronavirus From Opening Our Mail?

According to Today.com, researches haven't yet determined how long coronavirus can stay active on paper. The United States Postal Service claims that there is no evidence at this time that COVID-19 can be spread through the mail. The USPS sites information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Surgeon General and the World Health Organization.

The USPS is providing information about COVID-19 to their workers; including letter carriers, through employee news articles, message boards, videos, an employee intranet site and stand-up talks.

However, in an interview with ProPublica, letter carriers are complaining about the lack of hand sanitizer, gloves and masks that they feel they should be using while handling so much mail. A petition at Co-Worker.org calls for the Postal Service to step up and provide emergency sick leave and hazard pay, gloves, sanitizer spray and face masks. The petition has been signed by over 83,000 people.

Even though most of my life is paperless, I love getting mail. It's exciting for me to see my cousin's familiar handwriting on a card or to get a real paper invitation. On Friday my ten year old got a handwritten letter from her best friend who lives two streets down from us. It was a really big deal. Her friend, (and her parents), took the time to write it, address it, find a stamp and mail it. That's love.

You can wipe down your mailbox with an antibacterial wipe if you want, but there's only the mail carrier touching it other than you. Experts do recommend that as with everything right now, to wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds after opening your mail and use hand sanitizer if you can't wash your hands.