President Donald Trump and governors of various states have suggested Americans should avoid restaurants due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead we’ve been told to either order delivery, takeout or carefully shop at the grocery store, which has left many people wondering: How safe is it to do all of those things as the virus spreads?
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There’s little risk in contracting the virus from food or food packaging picked up at a takeout window or from a restaurant, said Benjamin Chapman, who is a professor and food safety specialist at North Carolina State University.
“I want to be clear that food or the packages could carry the virus, but the risk of transmission is very, very low,” Chapman said.
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Here’s the tougher news: Crowds full of people that can cough or sneeze or spread their germs on grocery carts and checkout lines …. So you don’t need to even touch a cart or basket, bring gloves or wipes or hand sanitizer with you, along with those planet-friendly reusable grocery bags.
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The bottom line, experts [said], is that there is an extremely low risk of contracting coronavirus from the food supply.
