It is difficult to eat without using your hands, never mind the risk of infection.
According to this the punishments are not the same –
Islam and Stealing
Stealing
Are Muslims allowed to steal?
Muslims may not steal from each other; in fact, Muhammad had people's hands cut off for that. But the same is not true of unbelievers.
Property rights for non-Muslims exist only at the discretion of their Muslim rulers. Non-submissive infidels frequently had their property stolen from them by Muhammad's warriors, which sometimes included wives and children.
As quoted above ‘There is no such thing as moderate Islam. Those Muslims who reject cutting off hands for theft are disregarding an explicit rule in the Quran. This makes them subject to punishment from true believers, since they are hypocrites by definition (see
66:9).’