Coronavirus can survive on takeaway cartons for up to 24hrs

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked widespread fears as little is still known about the potential of the virus and how long it can effectively survive outside a person. With millions of

people being advised to stay at home, food delivery companies are expected to stay open to cater to those self-isolating but some people have already expressed concerns of the novel

coronavirus being able to spread through takeaway containers. NBC medical correspondent Dr John Torres told TODAY: "A lot of people are asking this question because they are ordering

food and, as they pick the food up, they start thinking, ‘is there something I need to worry about?’ "We know coronavirus can last on cardboard for 24 hours so the concern is not so

much the food preparers themselves because they are making sure the nobody sick is preparing it but it’s on the actual cardboard container. "The cardboard container, especially if you

are concerned about it - one of the things you want to do is open up the container, use some utensils to pull out the food and put it on a plate. "Then throw the container out and wash

your hands and then go ahead and eat the food." Dr Torres also suggested people whose immune system is weaker due to pre-existing conditions should order warmer food to increase the

chances of the virus dying out during the cooking process as well as microwaving the containers. JUST IN: BORIS PREPARES DRAMATIC NEW LAWS - POSSIBLE FULL LOCKDOWN IN 24HRS He added:

"If you have immune system issues, if you are worried because you are high-risk, make sure you order warm food because that’s more likely to kill the virus and microwave it for 30

seconds because that will kill the virus as well. "But overall, very, very low risk." Food delivery companies have increasingly implemented new security measures to protect not

only their customers but their staff, including social distancing precautions to ensure an order is completed without the need for the client or the delivery person to come into direct

contact. Virologists across the world have been working to develop a viable vaccine to COVID-19, with the first trial started in the United States last week. READ MORE: FURY AS SIX

AMBULANCES HAVE TYRES DELIBERATELY PUNCTURED AMID CORONAVIRUS CRISIS All participants will be split into three groups, who will be given different dosages of the vaccine. Researchers will

trial on 108 participants, aged between 18 and 60 who are all from the Wuhan region. Chinese state media outlet Global Times said the "development of a vaccine is a battle that China

cannot afford to lose". This is because officials in China has supposedly been enraged by seemingly xenophobic comments coming from the US, with President Donald Trump describing it as

the Chinese virus. Around the world, the total confirmed coronavirus cases have now surpassed 339,000 - impacting more than 100 countries. The number of dead from the disease has also

exceeded 14,700 with Europe now becoming the epicentre of the disease.