A Calgary family is warning others to thoroughly disinfect their mail and packages after a disturbing delivery caught on camera.
Michelle Alexander told Global News she was waiting for a package to arrive from Amazon on May 4 when her husband started screaming from downstairs.
“He yelled, ‘Don’t open the door!'” Alexander said. “He was watching on our doorbell cam and so he saw this happen live.”
What Alexander’s husband saw was a delivery driver approach the door. He then appeared to spit off to the side of the home, before letting off a number of sneezes.
Alexander acknowledged it could have been allergies and added she didn’t mind the sneezing as much as what he had done before.
“When I watched the video back I realized he had actually spit on our yard — before he sneezed — and that’s really what made us upset about it.”
The family has young children and said the spit could make it dangerous for them, especially during a pandemic.
“Our railing was right there,” she said. “Our kids are always holding that railing.”
“Pandemic or no pandemic — having a delivery person spit on your yard is pretty off-putting.”
The family reached out to Amazon and the courier company Intelcom, and said they got a generic response back which didn’t address any specific concerns. That’s when they posted the video.
Global News did not get a response from Amazon, but the courier company did send a statement, saying: “As soon as Intelcom became aware of the video, we began an internal investigation, gathered the facts, and it quickly led us to identify the delivery associate.”
“The driver received a five-day suspension for the duration of the investigation and a refresh on security and hygiene measures.”
Intelcom went on to say it takes any form of indecency very seriously and does not tolerate any disrespectful behaviour from employees or delivery associates.
The family said they did not post the video on social media in order to get the employee fired, they just wanted to warn others.
“It’s easy to become complacent because its been a couple of months now,” Alexander said. “Maybe we aren’t wiping things down as well as before, maybe not washing our hands as often so just getting that reminder — especially such a visual reminder — definitely felt that other people could benefit from that.”
A number of Calgary area parcel sorting and delivery plants have had COVID-19 outbreaks. Experts say you can protect yourself when receiving a package or mail by disinfecting the exterior of the package, washing your hands and then reaching into the package.
People can also leave the package for a few days untouched, as the virus cannot live on plastic or cardboard for more than a few days.
The Alexanders disinfected their package before bringing into the house.
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