You can’t get COVID-19 from your newspaper

By Jensen, Randy on March 27, 2020.

LETHBRIDGE HERALD

There have been some concerns whether you can get COVID-19 from your newspaper, which has been deemed an essential service. The answer is no.

A story by Stephanie Ip from the Vancouver Province helps put the concern in perspective:

We know you’re worried. We’re here to assure our readers that you can’t get COVID-19 from handling a newspaper delivered to your home.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, we know you have questions about how to protect yourself and your family from being infected and from unnecessary spread of the virus.

We’ve also received a few questions about whether you should be concerned about your newspaper deliveries and possible transmission of the virus.

Rest assured that measures have been put in place to ensure you can feel confident and safe picking up your paper each morning:

– Printing plants are highly automated so there is minimal handling of newspapers until they are transported to pick up locations which are outdoors.

– Distributors contracted to handle paper deliveries and their carriers who deliver products have been advised to take proper precautions including social distancing at their pick-up points and to use gloves and masks where necessary.

And the newspaper delivery business, unlike most, is conducted entirely in an open-air environment thus mitigating the risks.

Also, health authorities like the B.C. Centre for Disease Control say the virus “is not something that comes in through the skin.”

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