It's unnecessary to disinfect tires, hallways, the bottom of your shoes, or deliveries said Liu Xiaofeng, deputy director of Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at a press conference on Wednesday.

These measures are "excessive," he said.

"There's no need to keep wiping the hands with alcohol pads, either," said Liu. "Washing hands often is enough."

It's safe to receive packages from places where there's been reports of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), said World Health Organization (WHO).

Previous analysis suggests coronavirus doesn't survive long on objects, such as letters or packages, said WHO. "The likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low and the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package that has been moved, traveled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low."

Besides, excessive disinfection is dangerous, which will not only pollute the environment and corrode items, but also cause damage to skin mucous membrane.

Excessive disinfectants do not disappear, but are likely to accumulate with rain and air seeping into the ecosystem, causing soil acidification and hardening. They can kill harmful bacteria as well as beneficial bacteria in the soil, damaging the biological network chain of urban green space.

"Do necessary disinfection when there are patients at home, otherwise people just need to pay attention to hygiene," said Liu.

Healthy habits include frequent hand washing, making sure your living space is ventilated, keeping a safe distance from others, avoiding shared food is more important than disinfection in controlling the prevalence and occurrence of disease, Liu suggested.

At public places with a high flow of people whose health status are unknown, people can increase the frequency of daily cleaning and disinfect items that are often touched. Ventilation is recommended as a way of air sterilization.

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