Pizza Delivery During Pandemic Times

This year has been a weird one for everyone. We used to only worry about leaving the house with our wallet, keys, and sunglasses and now we have to remember to take our masks and a lot of antibacterial wipes and gel. Another thing that changed a lot was our consumption habits. We used to be able to eat out every single day and hung out with all of our friends at once but now with most restaurants being close and limiting our social activities, food takeout and delivery services are the most convenient options for those who would rather not to cook. 

Pizza is the perfect comfort food for many Americans. It is delicious, not too messy, fulfilling, great for warm or cold weather, you can find it in many presentations such as Chicago style, or thin crust and there are a lot of different topping options for you to choose from. It is easy to deliver, it tastes good the next day and you don’t need silverware. Pizza is just a perfect meal, so its no surprise that pizza delivery services are working harder than ever to deliver freshly made pizzas to everyone during quarantine but many questions remain about the risk of getting infected when ordering food delivery. 

Many people wonder if it’s safer to order takeout or delivery so here are some answers from food-safety and public health experts. Both options, takeout, and delivery are definitely lower in risk than eating out in a restaurant. However, the safer option is contactless delivery. This means the delivery driver will leave the food that you previously paid remotely at your door, that way customers and workers never need to touch. While getting takeout is not as dangerous as eating out in a restaurant, you expose yourself to being close to other customers while waiting for your food. If you decide to order pickup, we strongly recommend you to ask the hostess to put the food down and walk away before you pick it up. If there is a line, remember to keep your distance and of course, wear your mask the whole time. If possible, wear gloves too and pay online or over the phone while placing you order.  

Ok, so you managed to place your order online and paid without making contact with anyone. Now you might be wondering how risky is the packaging? Well, we have great news for you, packaging has a low risk of contamination! While it is possible for the virus to get to people through packaging, it is not the main way the virus spreads. If the staff in the restaurant and the delivery driver wore their masks and hopefully gloves the whole time the risk of transmission is quite low. However, if you are hesitant about it, you can wipe down the package, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds using soap and then transfer the food to a plate. 

So bottom line, the risk of getting infected lies in interacting with other people, not with food. So go ahead and place your pizza delivery order or anything you like. Just remember to wash your hands. 

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