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Patrick Dunagan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 6, 2020
1
1
Hello to all,
I am scheduled to receive my new Mackbook Wednesday. Should I have health concerns? I currently have a call into Apple about this.

Patrick
 
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I would be far less worried about the country of origination than the local shipper (i.e., FedEx, UPS). You're not going to have any lingering virus issues in/on/aound the OEM product/packaging, what I'd do is wipe down the shipping box, carefully remove the interior Apple packaging, rewipe, leave the other box outside and come in and wash my hands. That's what we do with all shipments, from Amazon, etc.
 
Have it redirected to me and I will sanitize it and keep it in quarantine for the duration. 😃
Otherwise just do what DT suggested.
 
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Hello to all,
I am scheduled to receive my new Mackbook Wednesday. Should I have health concerns? I currently have a call into Apple about this.

Patrick

i don't think you need to ask apple..let apple use its precious human resources to try to get the under-repair devices that are stuck locked up in scores of apple physical stores back to their owners can't get their devices until those stores re-open...

in the case of apple items made out of metal, originating from china, there is almost no risk that SARS-CoV-2 can survive on metal surfaces after 48-72 hours.
the outer shrink wrap plastic about the same length of time.
so no need for concern.

however, how the packaging was handled and by whom within the USA (or within your own country if outside of the USA) is more of a concern:

1 if you can, wear gloves when you receive the parcel
2 if the delivery company is insisting on a scribble on a tablet to sign for the parcel, make sure you have yr own plastic thing to "sign" for it.
3 bring the parcel into yr apartment/home's entry way
4 open the outer cardboard shipping boxes right there, while wearing gloves; use a cutter knife that is used just for this purpose in yr entryway. be sure to tear down the outer shipping box at this point since you will need to do it later anyway when you discard it (if your recycling the cardboard)
5 take the main apple product box out of the shipping box and wipe the surfaces of the shrinkwrap with a min.60% alcohol content wipe to be sure (maybe not needed however but this preserves my own sanity about ensuring a safe inner sanctum of your home)
6 wash your own hands at this point before you bring in your nice, beautiful apple device (don't forget this! no need for alcohol based soap. just wash long enough - 20 seconds - this creates a habit that you easily get into)
 
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Yeah, by the time the machine gets to you, the device itself would have been free of the virus, more of a concern would be the external packaging that the courier company has handled.

Re gloves, own pencil, etc. - personally i think that is being over the top, but you do you. Whatever makes you feel safer.

I'd unwrap, dispose of the outer cardboard packaging, then wash my hands and personally i feel that's enough.

If you have alcohol wipes maybe wipe down the plastic and your hands before opening the inner, apple packaging but once you're inside that you'll be fine.

As far as we know, so long as you aren't touching your mouth, eyes, etc. with your hands, you won't get infected by your hands.

Wearing gloves, i'd be washing my hands thoroughly afterwards anyway, as getting gloves off without touching your hands at all is pretty tricky...
 
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See below:

This is a really good document to refer to in terms of how long the coronavirus can actually sustain on various materials. The reality is, cardboard is actually one of the worst materials that the coronavirus can actually sustain.

In terms of being proactive about sanitization, I’m taking a page from another credible former member (Lizkat) that I agree with, when I receive a package, I’ll just leave it sit in my garage for a few days, [assuming I don’t need to access the contents inside right away]. By using the method I suggest, I don’t have to use my resources in terms of wipes/sprays to clean the contents on the box itself.

On a sidenote, my neighbor brought some beer over yesterday to my house, and even though I really appreciate his kind gesture, I plan on leaving it in the garage for 3/4 days before I bring it into my house, just because I Don’t know where his hands have been, Who else handled it, etc.

Being defensive in terms of how you handle various items that come into your household, play a huge role in safety and practice cautionary sake.

1EC5A0AC-BD65-4A7E-9C2E-79028AEB1089.jpeg
 
Yeah, my advice was based on the idea that it would have been in shipping from china, in teh outer cardboard at least 3-4 days - thus only the outer cardboard should be contaminated at worst.

Inside that, any COVID19 would have died, but the plastic wrap on the apple branded box you may have contaminated with your dirty hands when getting it out of the outer cardboard box.
 
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If I don't need an item right away. I just set the box aside for a couple days. By then it is safe to handle without gloves. Pretty much everything inside will be bug free even with two day shipping when it arrives. Although it's possible for the virus to live three or four days. So, just to be safe I give everything a few days.

If I need it right away. I put on gloves, open the box and wipe everything down with disenfecting wipes. Keeping disinfected items on a different surface than non-disinfected items. Also keeping gloves moistened with disinfectant the entire time. Otherwise you'd just keep contaminating everything. Dispose of the box outside. Remove gloves and wash my hands.

Also if I handled any door handles during this process. They'll be wiped down.

Wearing gloves, i'd be washing my hands thoroughly afterwards anyway, as getting gloves off without touching your hands at all is pretty tricky...
Just use your teeth to pull them off. Then you won't contaminate your hands. 😁 /s
 
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