With so many people staying at home amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, take-out or delivery meals can be an appealing option, and there are a few ways to ensure you leave any unwanted germs at the doorstep.
Dr. Simone Wildes, an infectious disease specialist, told ABC News that one of the safest precautions is "not to make contact with the delivery person" during the hand off.
"Contact less delivery is [when they] leave the package or the food outside without having to directly speak with the person or individuals," she explained. "And then they go out and collect the packages without any direct interaction."
Once the food is inside the kitchen, Wilde suggested another step to help mitigate any risk of potential germs being spread.
"Take it out of the containers, toss those containers and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water," she advised.
The coronavirus can live on cardboard surfaces for 24 hours and on plastic surfaces for up to 72 hours, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Package disposal and hand washing are two important steps in your new dinner delivery process.
Delivery services have also implemented new protocols to help keep their couriers healthy and safe.
Doordash CEO and co-founder Tony Xu told ABC News that his company is rolling out resources to give delivery workers an extra layer of protection.
Sharing an update about our continued efforts to make sure that everyone in our communities is well fed and well cared for during this unprecedented situation. https://t.co/yCug7eHtaL
— DoorDash (@DoorDash) March 17, 2020
"For drivers we are in the middle of distributing over a million health kits, which include gloves and sanitizers," he said. "For consumers this week we are defaulting all deliveries to no contact."
Grubhub founder and CEO Matt Maloney said the company has also implemented new strategies to help in the wake of coronavirus.
"We're working really hard with local jurisdictions to make sure that delivery and pickup is still available," he said.
Local restaurants need our support now more than ever. Learn more about the actions we are taking to help you, our restaurant partners, and our drivers, to ensure the health and safety of everyone while supporting our entire community: https://t.co/Rs0ggMhNdL pic.twitter.com/eRs3r0Hw0w
— Grubhub (@Grubhub) March 17, 2020
" Currently there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with food," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
