The rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” Sir James Paul McCartney, the legendary musical maestro, had once borrowed the line from Mark Twain to scotch the rumour of his death. The sheer influence of a canard — in the present case that newspapers can act as carriers of coronavirus — is as pervasive and deadly as the pandemic Covid-19, leading to panic among newspaper readers and vendors.
Therefore, it is high time The Pioneer informed you about facts, and measures we have taken, when the life of our esteemed readers is concerned. While there is no data or scientific truth — as clarified by WHO too — in the rumour as the entire process from printing to packaging newspapers is completely automated, thus devoid of human touch, The Pioneer has added an additional layer of safety by spraying sanitisation on the paper during the printing and by ensuring that even vendors and delivery persons are properly sanitised.
Also, the printing staff are thermally scanned and sanitised daily, said The Pioneer’s printing manager Indraraj.
The newspaper copies, bundled in sanitised brown envelopes, are loaded into sanitised vehicles. And the delivery boys, the only persons who actually touch your newspapers before delivering the same at your doorsteps, have been informed about the importance of personal hygiene, particularly sanitising their hands. They have been provided with sanitisers and masks to ensure that The Pioneer readers are absolutely safe while touching or reading the newspapers, said the circulation head, Rajeev Gautam.