Serious question, is it still safe buying goods from China? I have a few orders of cables, NFC tags, chargers, etc coming from AliExpress, Banggood, joybuy, and so on. Can said goods spread Corona virus? I saw it happen in an episode of the Simpsons.
Mod: Removed pointless poll
a quick call 1800 022 222 will give you better answer.
Easiest solution is don't import animals/slaves from China.
Whatever you do, don't touch anything from China!
yes everyone really should not be touching any goods that have "Made in China" printed on them.
Answer: No.
"While we don’t know for sure that this virus will behave the same way as SARS and MERS, we can use the information 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."
Seems like the most scientific answer, thanks, will maybe just be wiping things down with disinfectant wipes just incase
Not sure why people make fun out of your question, it's a very valid one.
There are various virus transmission methods -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_(medicine)
Question about indirect transmission is definitely worth asking, especially that there are viruses known to survive for weeks on objects: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=indirect+…
Unfortunately, I'm not an expert on it, so I cannot say anything about coronaviruses.
Answer above may help, I've also asked two friends with PhDs in biology, I'll try to update this post if I get the answer.
Other Sources + Commentary:
https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.E…
Nice academic paper with viability graphs of MERS-CoV and H1N1 virus under differing environmental conditions (20c v 30c) and different relative humidity. Basically shows us that these two viruses become unviable within 72 hours "under the right conditions".
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/20/7/14-0500_article
Are we importing drinks from China? Yes, we are… Can survive several days? Yes… MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV related. (May need to look through references on this page to find where the thresholds for viable virus recovery stand)
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html
Huge caveats on ambient temps required for the virus to die. Possibly assumes 20c as ambient temp. For air cargo, if you fly frequently like I do, it is really cold at times, especially if the heat doesn't turn on properly. I had a flight where they had to turn off the entertainment system to get enough power to the heating. In fact sometimes the plane is really cold just being in the air. It's definitely not long enough for the virus to become unviable when you really put your head down and think about it. Flight is less than 12 hours. Sea shipping, that's fine.
Thus why it should be recommended further quarantine in Australia for at least 3 days before any postal worker who is not disinfected comes into contact with it. 3 days is nothing. We should we doing it. I've had stuff fly in and within a day it's there on my doorstep. That wouldn't be ideal in the future, especially since experts are mentioning this disease will most likely not disappear over time because of how contagious it is. Personally I would call it the virus version of tuberculosis because that's what it does to your lungs.
Need to really emphasise why the CDC wrote what they did and the manner in which they wrote it.
So what do you plan to do?
We can all go look at the academic papers ourselves and make a decision. I'm surprised we don't have any Ozbargain Medical Specialists here.
Thanks, some interesting reading.
Am I Going to Get Corona Virus from Buying Goods from China?
is it still safe buying goods from China?
Can said goods spread Corona virus?
Yes to one or more of the above.
"Made in China"
you'll be fine, nothing tends to last long from there
i'd give it an extra week before opening :)
Redirect it to Christmas Island first for two weeks?
glen20
I feel so strongly about this, that in addition to voting "yes" I've also commented.
My source - my sister-in-law's nextdooor neighbor once knew someone who was a doctor studying something related to transmission of viruses
Stay safe
Where are you inserting those items?
Mostly USB C ports but some micro USB also
woosh
I think you were the one who got wooshed by this troll :) "I saw it happen in an episode of the Simpsons." come on people
Hello, in that case you should buy a six pack of USB condoms to be on the safe side
Pretty sure Gearbest and banggood build a 2 week quarantine period into their shipping time. Very prescient of them.
I import a lot of stuff from Sweden and now I've got blonde hair so I would definitely be carefull.
I imported a lot of stuff from France and I've got few French GF so I would definitely be will keep doing it..
You get Corona if you drink Corona.
Lol thought this was funny. Conan on the decline in Corona beer sales - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z0f2Ho-EFk
May have to wear protection while using the products. N95 mask should do it.
Quarantine your parcel/s for two weeks. Then release those things into the wild and hope for the best. Nothing can go wrong.
before release them, check their temperature for fever!
The corona virus got to Australia faster than my Aliexpress order.
It came here by overnight air delivery and also not held up by customs.
Silly question !
Yes.
Yesterday I opened up a package from China containing a cheap charger from eBay and instantly died.
and today i magically alive again
F
That might be a separate issue.
i received a package from ebay from Hunan province a couple of days ago.
not concerned
I received one from Wuhan. Even the postman was a little concerned and my wife left the room and shut herself in the bedroom till I moved the part to the garage. She then disinfected the whole house and went though what I swear was 20 cans on Glen 20.
I was more concerned with hyperventilating from all the laughing I was doing :D
Q: Am I Going to Get Corona Virus from Buying Goods from China?
A: YES if you buy Corona beers
are you saying the simpsons has again predicted the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqCVB0tOSVQ&t=16s
Absolutely! you'll also get it when posting on Ozbargain if you are using a Laptop or mobile phone manufactured in China.
as a few of the serious and not serious answers have said - viruses have a limited lifespan particularly on dry surfaces. i'm just planning on not opening any packages that come via china for a while after they arrive.
This from a BBC article -
Can the coronavirus be transferred through items bought from Wuhan and posted to UK? - Stefan
There is no evidence this is a risk. Some diseases - including the coronavirus that causes Sars - can spread through surfaces contaminated by people coughing or sneezing on them.
It has not been shown this new coronavirus can do that. Even if it could, there would still be questions about whether international shipping would be a major problem.
Cold viruses tend to survive less than 24 hours outside the human body although norovirus (a severe stomach bug) can last months outside the body.
The most reassuring fact so far is that cases seem to require close contact with another person - say, a family member or healthcare worker - in order to spread.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51176409#share-too…
Yeah now that you mention it, I'd rather take my chances with coronavirus than norovirus. Nothing quite makes you want to die more than a stomach bug.
https://theconversation.com/your-blood-type-may-influence-yo…
"…in developing countries, results in about 50,000 child deaths each year." Wow interesting article and quite serious by the sounds of it. Thanks for posting :)
Good way to lose weight though.
Another article
https://www.3aw.com.au/chadstone-shopping-centre-deserted-am…
"There have actually been some studies done to see how long a virus can persist, say, on a door knob, and it’s very short.
“I wouldn’t be worried in any way about packages from China, for example. The most important public health measure is staying away from people who are actually sick.”
I doubt you would contract it from items purchased from china surely customs would check items arriving from these places before sending to the public…
Yes. Also ABRS (acute brain rape syndrome)
It should still be fine to purchasing stuff from China right? or are you all worried and don't want to take the risk.
Guys we have reached the point where China is probably the safest place you can get stuff from! They have shut down transmission.
Now, anything brought from Coles & Woolies - well, I'd probably wipe it down ;)
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/514875#comment-8275487