Here's how to avoid coronavirus transmission from Christmas cards and parcels - according to a scientist

More people than ever will be sending Christmas gifts in the post this year - but are packaging and envelopes safe from coronavirus?

You might be wondering if it's necessary to disinfect or quarantine parcels and cards to avoid picking up coronavirus from cardboard or paper.

With limited research on the longevity of coronavirus on materials like cardboard or paper, the advice around the subject has been mixed.

"People haven't really looked at the survival of respiratory viruses on cardboard because it's not particularly useful from a healthcare perspective," explains Dr Sarah Pitt, from the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Brighton.

Most advice, she adds, is based on a study published earlier this year, conducted in a laboratory setting, which looked at the survival of SARS-2 (a respiratory virus) on paper. It found that the virus lasted for 12 hours in any setting. Researchers also found that virus samples lasted for less than 48 hours on bank notes.

Dr Pitt notes that the study used an "artifically high" amount of the virus on the materials - a level that you'd be less likely to encounter on paper or bank notes in real life.