Am I at risk for COVID-19 from package or products shipped from China?

There is still a lot that is unknown about the newly emerged COVID-19 and how it spreads. Two other coronaviruses have emerged previously to cause severe illness in people (MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV). The virus that causes COVID-19 is more genetically related to SARS-CoV than MERS-CoV, but both are betacoronaviruses with their origins in bats. While we don’t know for sure that this virus will behave the same way as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, we can use the information gained from both of these earlier coronaviruses to guide us. 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. 

Information obtained from the CDC.


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1. How does COVID-19 spread?
2. What is community spread?
3. Can someone spread COVID-19 without being sick?
4. What can I do to protect myself and family from COVID-19?
5. What should I do if I had close contact with someone who has COVID-19?
6. What should people at higher risk of serious illness with COVID-19 do?
7. Can the virus that caused COVID-19 be spread through food, including refrigerated of frozen food?
8. Am I at risk for COVID-19 from package or products shipped from China?
9. What is the source of the coronavirus disease 2019?
10. Should I be concerned about pets or other animals and COVID-19?