Threat of COVID-19 is real; getting it from your newspaper is not

I must confess to a roll of the eyes when I read former Tribune conservative columnist Thomas Hennigan’s letter to the editor on Sunday where he encouraged subscribers to stop delivery of their newspaper over concerns about the spread of COVID-19.

After getting past my childish reaction, I did a little research to see what two of the leading organizations on the coronavirus front had to say.

The Centers for Disease Control rates the chances of COVID-19 being spread through contact with surfaces as “very low,” this would include packages, mail and yes, newspapers.

The World Health Organization has a pretty thorough “frequently asked questions” section on its website that reaches the same conclusion.

In response to the question, “Is it safe to receive a package from any area where COVID-19 has been reported,” the answer is “yes.”

“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, traveled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low,” according to WHO.

It’s true that neither of these organizations put the odds at zero, but no reputable health organization would. It says a lot, however, that they use words like “safe” and “very low risk.”

Responding to concerns heard about newsprint and the coronavirus, Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of International News Media Association, wrote an article earlier this week that noted: “There has never been a documented incident whereby the COVID-19 virus has been transmitted from a print newspaper, print magazine, print letter, or print package, according to the world’s top doctors and scientists.”

For those who still have their doubts, it’s worth remembering that the Tribune is available to all subscribers online at lmtribune.com. If you like the look of a newspaper, click on the E-edition.

We, too, have concerns during this worldwide pandemic and are making every effort to keep our employees and customers safe. For the time being, the Tribune office and production center are closed to the public. Many of our employees who are able to are working from home. And both our office and production center are undergoing frequent sanitizing efforts.

Our contract carrier workforce, those folks who deliver the paper to you each and every day, have been advised to follow CDC guidelines for their health and safety, as well as those around them and those they serve.

Now, more than ever, it’s important that we all stay informed and do so from fact-based, fact-checked sources like the Tribune. Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said as much when they included newspapers in their list of essential services.

These are difficult times and we will get through them together.

To Hennigan and others like him with similar concerns, fear not. You may not like everything you see in the Tribune, but you sure won’t contract COVID-19 when you pick up the paper to give it a read.

Clohessy is managing editor of the Lewiston Tribune. He may be contacted at cclohessy@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2251.