How long does the Corona virus last on surfaces?

Arab Weather - It is known that the main method of transmission of the Corona virus, known as Covid-19, is by droplets flying from the nose or mouth after an infected person coughs or sneezes or while he is speaking.

As this flying spray is heavy, as it does not reach long distances, so a social distance of at least one meter is recommended to prevent infection with Corona

The virus does not remain suspended in the air for long periods of time, but falls on surfaces, which may cause infection if someone touches a contaminated surface and then moves the virus into his body after touching the eyes, nose, or mouth. Here lies the importance of washing hands well with soap and water after touching any surface or person.

How long does the new Corona virus last in flying droplets?

One study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the emerging corona virus is able to live in flying droplets for three hours.

The World Health Organization commented that this time does not express how long the virus remains in the flying droplets from coughing or sneezing, because the experiment is laboratory and stronger devices were used to release this spray.

How long does the new Corona virus last on surfaces?

Research continues on how long the virus can survive on the many surfaces around us. It is mostly based on the results of the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the study published in The Lancet.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that the viability of the virus varies with the type of surface. For example, it was noticed that the period of his life on plastic and stainless steel surfaces reached 72 hours, and it was longer than his life time on cardboard, which reached 24 hours, or copper, which reached 4 hours.

Whereas, the study published in The Lancet was able to reveal the period of time during which the virus can cause infection after placing it on different surfaces at a temperature of 22 degrees Celsius and a humidity of 65%. It should be noted that these results do not reflect the reality of the behavior of this virus on the surfaces that we are exposed to in our daily life, due to the laboratory conditions that were established to conduct the experiment. They could not find any virus after 3 hours of planting it on paper and napkins, after two days on wood and clothes, after 4 days on glass and banknotes, and after 7 days on plastic and stainless steel.

Based on the above, it has been reached that the virus’s survival period depends on the type of surface, and it increases as the surface is smooth, and decreases with the passage of time. However, it must be taken into account that the ability of the virus to live is affected by other factors such as environmental factors that are usually determined in advance in laboratory experiments. The results indicate the following:

Plastic: Plastic is found around us in many types such as food packaging boxes, water bottles, milk boxes, credit cards, remote controls, light switches, computers, mouse, ATM buttons, and most children's toys.

We noticed the difference in the time period for the ability of the virus to live on these surfaces between the two studies, so it was decided that the emerging corona virus can live on these surfaces for a period ranging between 3-7 days.

Stainless steel: Examples include door handles, refrigerators, switches, industrial equipment and more. The two studies differed in time period, so it is thought to be able to live for 3-7 days.

Carton: Coronavirus can survive on shipping cartons and food packaging for up to 24 hours.

Copper : Examples include coins, kitchen utensils, jewelry, and electrical cords. It is believed that the virus is less able to live on copper surfaces than other surfaces, as it can only survive for 4 hours.

Papers : Papers are spread around us in many varieties such as tissue paper, special tissues for bathroom or kitchen use, in addition to magazines, books, and paper currencies. He revealed that the Corona virus can survive on papers for three hours, with the exception of banknotes, which the virus can live for 4 days.

Wood : Corona virus can survive on wooden objects such as furniture, shelves and others for a period of between 2-4 days.

Glass : It is possible for the emerging corona virus to survive on glass objects around us, such as windows, mirrors, cups, phone screens, TV, and computers for a period of up to 4-5 days.

Ceramics : In our time, many kitchen utensils are made of ceramics, such as dishes, utensils, and cups. It is believed that the life span of the virus may be up to 5 days.

Aluminum : The virus survives on aluminum utensils, such as soft drinks cans, for up to 2-8 hours.

Is the virus transmitted through water or food?

Some people may think of the question about the possibility of the virus surviving on foods and the risk of transmission through them, and how to deal with food to reduce the risk. In the beginning, it should be mentioned that there is no evidence of possible transmission of the virus through foods, their packaging, or prepared foods. However, some steps must be taken to protect ourselves and others, such as:

• Wearing masks while shopping.
• Wiping the hands of shopping trolleys with sterile tissues before using them or washing shopping bags before and after each use.
• Commitment to social distancing while shopping, and maintaining adequate distance between you and others.
• Avoid placing hands on the face.
• Wash hands with soap and water well for at least 20 seconds when you finish shopping and return home, and after you finish placing your purchases.
• Wash fruits and vegetables well with water when you buy them and leave them to dry, and not wash them with soap, chlorine, sterilizers, alcohol, or any chemicals not intended for washing them. Washing it with salt, pepper, vinegar, or lemon juice has not been proven effective in getting rid of germs.
• Wiping canned food is a matter of precaution, although there is no evidence that it could be transferred on these surfaces.
• Do not use surface sterilizers such as bleach, chlorine, or ammonia on cardboard or plastic cans.
• Disinfect kitchen surfaces after completion.

It should also be noted that the new Corona virus is not transmitted in water, but precautions must be taken when buying water cans, removing packaging bags and wiping them with sterile tissues, since their material is plastic. The virus is likely to be carried on it if one of the infected people passes it.

Is Corona virus transmitted through clothes?

Some may ask about the possibility of the virus being transmitted through clothing. It has not been mentioned until now that there are any infections that the virus has transmitted to it through clothes or shoes, so it is not believed that it is one of the means of transmission of the virus and it is not dangerous for now.

But as we mentioned, the virus may be present on the surfaces, which may raise fear in the hearts of some that the clothes are one of them, but this has not been proven so far, since the material from which the clothes are made is different.

Despite this, it is preferable to take the following precautions and measures:

• Allocate clean, sterile clothes to get out of the house.
• Washing clothes daily and immediately after completion of work for workers in the medical sector or those whose task requires care of those infected with the emerging coronavirus.
• Take alternative clothes, wear them at the workplace, and take them off immediately upon entering the home and before interacting with family members.
• Sterilizing shoes from the upper and lower surfaces upon arrival at the house, and leaving them outside in the open air or at the entrance to the house.
• Reducing the wearing of jewelry, jewelry and accessories to reduce the chance of transmitting the virus through them as well.
• It is also recommended that the following things be taken into consideration when washing clothes:
• Use regular water and laundry soap. It is recommended to use powders that contain bleach or chlorine, with attention to the possibility of their effect on some clothes. You can also soak clothes with quaternary ammonium before washing them.
• Choose a warm water temperature between 60-90 degrees Celsius. Beware of possible damage to clothing from high water temperatures, shrinkage, or damage.
• Ensure that clothes are completely dry before putting them in the cupboard.
• Sterilize the laundry basket with 0.1% sodium hypochlorite or approved sterilizer.
• Wear gloves when handling clothes before washing them or washing them immediately after completing the application of the dirty laundry and before touching the face.
• Clean the washer and dryer surface before using them.
• Avoid styling clothes in public laundries.

Is Corona virus affected by changes in temperature and air humidity?

The emerging corona virus, like other previous strains of the Corona family, is affected by the change in the air temperature and humidity surrounding it.

The study published by The Lancet found that the virus was affected by temperatures, as it could live at 4 degrees Celsius, but with less concentration after 14 days, while it was able to live for only 5 minutes when the temperature was raised to 70 degrees Celsius.

The drying time of the spray is one of the important factors in determining the possibility of infection, as it indicates the period of time during which the virus may be transmitted from the droplets to a person exposed to it, due to the need for the virus to have a medium in which to live. Therefore, one of the studies published in the Journal of Fluid Physics searched for the impact of the spray drying time by various factors such as humidity, temperature and surfaces, and tried to determine the extent of their results correlating with the injuries found in five cities, which are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Sydney and Singapore.

The study found that the life of the virus increases by about five times in humid conditions compared to dry conditions. It is also expected that increasing the air temperature will reduce the chances of infection from the droplets because it dries up faster. Consequently, they noticed that the number of injuries was more in New York compared to Singapore, because the spray drying time was higher, despite its less humidity. The study also found that the virus is able to live longer in moist surfaces such as phone screens, cotton, and wood compared to glass and steel, and therefore they must be sterilized more frequently.

Medical