As COVID-19 Impacts Amazon, Postal Service, Are Deliveries Safe?

As two workers at the Amazon warehouse in Middletown and a postal employee in Central Bucks County have tested positive for COVID-19 this week, should locals be concerned for their health as they grab mail or packages?

The simple answer, according to the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: not so much.

Numerous logistics company like Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and Amazon all cite world and federal health officials as noting the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has a low likelihood of contaminating cardboard or other shipping containers.

“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, traveled, and been exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low,” the World Health Organization said.

The CDC stated: “In general, because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures. Coronaviruses are generally thought to be spread most often by respiratory droplets. Currently there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with imported goods and there have not been any cases of COVID-19 in the United States associated with imported goods.”

The case is similar for food and grocery deliveries as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stated COVID-19 contamination through food or food packages is not evident, noting transmission is mainly through person-to-person contact.

The postal service and Amazon both said they have made the health of their workforce and customers a priority.

At the Amazon facility on Cabot Boulevard in Middletown, delivery workers were informed earlier this week that Amazon conducted an “extensive investigation” to determine who the infected employees came in contact with. Those who came in contact with the two who became sick were self-quarantined at their homes.

“We’re continuing to monitor the situation in our facilities and corporate offices, and we are taking proactive measures to protect employees and associates who have been in contact with anyone who has been diagnosed or becomes ill. Like most global companies, we’ve had employees affected by this, and we’re doing all that we can to protect our employees and take the proper precautions as stated in WHO guidelines,” Timothy Carter, an Amazon spokesperson, told LevittownNow.com.

Amazon, according to Carter, is offering employees with COVID-19 or those forced into quarantine paid leave and all employees can take unlimited unpaid time off through the end of April. The massive online retailer is also increasing cleaning at its sites, implementing preventive health measures, and undertaken numerous social distancing measures.

Two Amazon employees at the company’s sprawling warehouse in Robbinsville, New Jersey, a short distance from Lower Bucks County, tested positive for COVID-19 recently. The incident caused dozens of employees to walk off the job out of concern, according to The Trentonian.

No postal service employees in Lower Bucks County are known to have come down with COVID-19, but the service confirmed Tuesday that an employee at the tiny Carversville Post Office in Solebury Township has tested positive for COVID-19.

The U.S. Postal Service has said they’ve stepped up measures to keep residents safe.

It has not been uncommon to see mail carriers and delivery drivers for various companies dropping off packages while wearing latex gloves and even masks.

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