I was thinking about this when I encountered our fabulous UPS guy yesterday. He had a stack of boxes that he was delivering, loading them from the truck, shifting on the handtruck to carry to addresses.
If there are germs on the surface (which we don't know on any given package - the vast majority are likely
not carrying the virus on the surface), the virus cells would not survive, imo, the friction of boxes rubbing against each other every step of the way in delivery. The friction would break the cell walls and the virus would not survive.
It's not as if germs are spread to the cardboard box and then the box is carefully carried to each address around the world without any interaction. Those boxes are tossed against each other and rubbed against each other when stacked over and over again during delivery.
I'm not a cell expert, but I don't think cells can survive friction against them.
The reason we don't just pour soap on items but actually scrub and rub is to break down cell walls. Friction is our friend.
This is my theory about shipments in boxes. I'm not afraid to touch them. But if anyone has expert info (beyond my opinion spouted from my armchair), please chime in.
jmo