Readers and online shoppers have been assured that it is safe to pick up a newspaper or package by health chiefs.
Concerns have been raised after questions if flicking through a paper could transmit the Covid-19 disease to readers.
However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been deemed it safe to receive packages such as newspapers, even from areas which have reported cases of the coronavirus.
A statement from WHO said: “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, travelled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low.”
America’s Centre for Disease Control also advised consumers that the virus had “a very low risk” of spreading on packages, newspapers, and other mail due to the “poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces”.
Experts continue to encourage people to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water after touching products from outside their homes.
