2020-03-31 Tue

The mail (not e-mail) has been transporting so many parcels and letters from one corner of the world to another. Amidst the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, one might wonder, can it also transport the virus and what a post office can do to avoid such things? The first and foremost measure is the fumigation of the mail.

The practice of fumigation has been common in the world since the middle ages. The then Republic of Venice extended and formalized the quarantine process to include cargo. Items such as textiles and letters were dipped in or sprinkled with vinegar, then often exposed to smoke from aromatic substances. A distinctive wax seal or cancellation was usually applied to them, so the recipient would know where and when the disinfection had been carried out.

The diseases changed, but for centuries mail disinfection techniques remained largely the same. As recently as 1900, during a plague outbreak in Honolulu, letters were routinely disinfected by clipping off the two opposite corners of each envelope and then spreading a batch of mail out in an airtight room filled with sulfur fumes for three hours.

What can we do today?

Image Courtesy: rd.com