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Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Coronavirus Risks a Year After Lockdowns Began

New Brunswick, N.J. (March 11, 2021) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Donald W. Schaffner is available for interviews on the likelihood of becoming infected by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus via shopping, groceries, surfaces and airborne/aerosol transmission after a year of lockdowns due to the global pandemic.

“We still believe food and food packaging represent a negligible risk of infection,” said Schaffner, a food microbiologist, extension specialist in food science and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food Science in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. “The biggest risk when shopping would be the other people in the store. It’s most important to wear a mask (or two) and maintain physical distance wherever possible. For added safety, use a hand sanitizer after exiting the store and wash your hands when you get home.” 

“Although people may be tempted to relax now that the end may be in sight because of vaccines, it’s very important that everyone maintain their vigilance and hang on for just a few more months,” he said.

Schaffner, who focuses on predictive food microbiology and quantitative microbial risk assessment and has studied handwashing for more than 20 years, is available to comment at don.schaffner@rutgers.edu  

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Broadcast interviews: Rutgers University has broadcast-quality TV and radio studios available for remote live or taped interviews with Rutgers experts. For more information, contact Neal Buccino at neal.buccino@echo.rutgers.edu 

ABOUT RUTGERS—NEW BRUNSWICK
Rutgers University–New Brunswick is where Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, began more than 250 years ago. Ranked among the world’s top 60 universities, Rutgers’s flagship is a leading public research institution and a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. It has an internationally acclaimed faculty, 12 degree-granting schools and the Big Ten Conference’s most diverse student body.