Dangerous surfaces. COVID-19 on metal surfaces.
Coronavirus might live on surfaces up to 17 days, scientists warn. It confirmed by research conducted on cruise ship Diamond Princess when passengers left it. According to the CDC, COVID-19 Outbreaks on Cruise Ships — Worldwide, Coronavirus stays on surfaces up to 17 days. After the last passenger left, they disinfected the Diamond Princess. However, they discovered the virus on various surfaces in the cabins of many passengers after 17 days. In most cases, cruise ships are often settings for outbreaks of infectious diseases because of their closed environment, contact between travelers from many countries, and crew transfers between boats. On the Diamond Princess, transmission mostly occurred among passengers before they implemented the quarantine, whereas crew infections peaked after the quarantine.
Researchers imitated the spread of the virus around an infected person by sneezing and coughing when touching objects. To simulate sneezing, they used a special device spray aerosol. They then examined how long the virus would remain on different surfaces.
How long Coronavirus can stay on surfaces – metal, plastic, cardboard.
As it turned out, COVID-19, spreading by sneezing, remains viable for at least three hours in the air. In the secretions that are released into the air when sneezing and coughing, half of the viral particles die in 66 minutes. Thus, even a few hours after sneezing, some of the virions will still be able to infect a person.
The respiratory syndrome of coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable in aerosols for up to three hours. Up to four hours on copper. On cardboard surface around a day. Coronavirus on plastic surfaces stays around 2 days, and stainless steel surfaces up to 3 days. For aluminum, wood, paper, plastic, and glass, the virus usually lingered for 4-5 days. The results provide critical information about the stability of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19 disease, and suggests that people may acquire the virus through the air and after touching contaminated objects.