There are a number of public health measures you must follow to keep yourself protected from COVID, so whenever a precaution can be removed from the list, there is a sense of relief. For now, you need to keep wearing your mask, distancing yourself socially and avoiding crowds, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just said that you can abandon a COVID precaution because it is not really helping you. Read on to find out what coronavirus mitigation measure you can skip and to make sure you’re staying safe, if you see it in your mask, the FDA says to throw it all away.
At the beginning of the pandemic, many people wore gloves when handling their packages and avoided eating takeaway for fear of getting COVID. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ended the theory that you could easily catch the coronavirus on surfaces months ago. According to the CDC guidelines, “Currently, there is no evidence that food is associated with the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19” and “the risk of infection by the virus in food products, food packaging or bags is considered very low. “
However, people continued to disinfect their deliveries and worry about food. The FDA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have just come together to address this concern. On February 18, the agencies released a statement reminding people that they need not be overly cautious about food and packaging for fear of contracting COVID. “Consumers should rest assured that we continue to believe, based on our understanding of the reliable scientific information currently available and supported by an overwhelming international scientific consensus, that the food they eat and the food packaging they touch is very likely to spread SARS-CoV-2, “says the statement. And for precautions that you should be aware of, don’t do this until a month after your COVID vaccine, experts warn.
The statement cited the large number of COVID cases – more than 100 million – that showed no evidence that food or food packaging was the source of transmission. “Since the number of virus particles that could theoretically be captured by touching a surface would be very small and the amount needed for oral inhalation infection would be very high, the chances of infection from touching the surface of the food package or eating food is considered extremely low, “notes the statement. And for more information on coronavirus transmission, this is where you’re most likely to get COVID, says a new study
The statement goes on to point out that “it is particularly important to note that COVID-19 is a person-to-person respiratory disease, unlike food-borne or gastrointestinal viruses such as norovirus and hepatitis.” While these other viruses can infect people through contaminated food, experts believe that the chances of COVID doing so are extremely remote. And for the most up-to-date information, subscribe to our daily newsletter.
While it doesn’t hurt to disinfect your home surfaces often, you don’t have to do it on COVID’s account, experts say. According to the CDC guidelines, “it is possible for a person to obtain COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that contains the virus and then touching their own mouth, nose or eyes.” However, they say, “touching surfaces is not considered a common way of spreading COVID-19.”
During a December 28 interview with NPR, Emanuel Goldman, PhD, a microbiologist at Rutgers University, said that disinfecting surfaces doesn’t do much to keep you protected from the coronavirus because the infectious matter that helps spread COVID “decays very quickly.” Goldman went on to say, “In hospitals, surfaces were tested close to COVID-19 patients and no infectious viruses can be identified.” And for more precautions you can give up, the CDC says that you don’t have to do this anymore after you are vaccinated.