The Coronavirus Lives For Several Hours In The Air And Several Days On Surfaces

Video: The Coronavirus Lives For Several Hours In The Air And Several Days On Surfaces

Video: The Coronavirus Lives For Several Hours In The Air And Several Days On Surfaces
Video: How Long Does the COVID Live on Surfaces? 2024, November
The Coronavirus Lives For Several Hours In The Air And Several Days On Surfaces
The Coronavirus Lives For Several Hours In The Air And Several Days On Surfaces
Anonim

The new coronavirus / COVID-19 / is the subject of much research around the world. Scientists have teamed up not only to search for drugs and vaccines, but also to study the viability and transmission of the virus. These guidelines will be very useful in limiting the spread of infection and developing adequate measures to protect against the coronavirus.

The coronavirus that became global pandemic, can remain viable and infected in the form of drops in air for several hours and on surfaces for up to a day.

These are the findings of a new study by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health, writes Reuters. The research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on Tuesday.

Scientists have tried to simulate a virus transmitted by an infected person on everyday surfaces at home or in a hospital, for example by coughing or touching objects. They used an aerosol measuring device that duplicated microscopic droplets formed by coughing or sneezing.

The coronavirus lives on surfaces
The coronavirus lives on surfaces

The researchers then studied how long COVID-19 remains infected on these surfaces. According to the study, the virus remains viable or is able to infect people with aerosols for at least three hours.

In plastic and stainless steel the virus can live up to three days. On cardboard, the virus is not viable for 24 hours. It takes 4 hours to inactivate on copper.

Regarding the half-life, the research team found that half of the virus particles take about 66 minutes to lose function if they are in an aerosol drop. This means that after an hour and six minutes, 3/4 of the virus particles will be substantially inactivated, but 25% will remain viable.

The number of viable viruses at the end of the third hour will be reduced to 12.5%.

It takes 5 hours 38 minutes for stainless steel until half of the virus particles become inactive. On plastic, the half-life is 6 hours 49 minutes, the researchers found.

On cardboard, the half-life is about three and a half hours, but researchers said there are many differences in the results, so we advise you to interpret this number carefully.

Coronavirus on surfaces
Coronavirus on surfaces

The shortest survival time is on the metal copper, where half of the virus is inactivated within 46 minutes.

Scientists have discovered that the new one coronavirus has similar levels of viability outside the body of a person from its predecessor, the coronavirus that causes SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

This means that other factors, such as the possibility of greater transmission between people without symptoms, may be the reason that the current pandemic is much larger than the SARS epidemic of 2002-2003.

The results confirm the guidelines of public health professionals regarding social distancing:

- avoid touching your face;

- cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing;

- wash and disinfect your hands thoroughly with an alcohol-based detergent or soap and water;

- Disinfect items frequently using disinfectant sprays or wipes.

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