All this frightening news about the coronavirus pandemic is enough to make one want to pack a bag and take an extended packrafting trip deep into the backcountry – or at least hole up with some canned food and spend time making packrafts alone.
Fortunately, experts at the Centers for Disease Control, Harvard Medical School, etc., indicate that the likelihood of coronavirus spreading by mail is very small, so you shouldn’t worry about the virus showing up on your doorstep if you order a DIY Packraft kit or a heat sealing iron. The longest reported time that the virus has survived on a surface is 2-3 days (shorter than the shipping time), so the inside of the parcel should be fine even if it was contaminated, but you might want to wipe the outside of the parcel with alcohol before handling it in case a postal worker recently coughed on it, for example.
The outbreak is currently disrupting air travel, and postal services are saying they cannot guarantee their delivery dates, so some packages from DIY Packraft could be delayed.
It remains to be seen whether or not the pandemic will affect production of the DIY Packraft fabric and other kit components. The factories that make these things are not located in the worst-hit countries, but that situation could change as the disease spreads. If there are shortages or production delays that affect the availability of DIY Packraft kit components, I’ll post an update here on the blog.
That’s really all I have to report on the subject at this time. Please do your best to avoid this illness – by not transmitting the disease, you could save a life or even many lives!
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