Coronavirus can survive at least 28 days on surfaces, according to new study

Coronavirus can survive at least 28 days on surfaces, according to a new study.

RESEARCHERS at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency have found that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, can survive for up to 28 days on common surfaces including banknotes, glass — such as that found on mobile phone screens — and stainless steel.

The study found that the virus survived longer at lower temperatures and tended to survive longer on non-porous or smooth surfaces such as glass, stainless steel and vinyl, compared to porous complex surfaces such as cotton, as well as paper banknotes as opposed to plastic ones.

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr. Larry Marshall said surface survivability research is a continuation of the agency’s other Covid-19 work, including vaccine testing, wastewater testing, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) manufacture and accreditation, and big data dashboards supporting each state.

“Establishing how long the virus really remains viable on surfaces enables us to more accurately predict and mitigate its spread, and do a better job of protecting our people,” said Dr. Marshall.

“Together, we hope this suite of solutions from science will break down the barriers between us, and shift focus to dealing with specific virus hotspots so we can get the economy back on track.

“We can only defeat this virus as Team Australia with the best Australian science, working alongside industry, government, research and the Australian community.”

Deputy Director of ACDP, Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, where the research was carried out, added that the results reinforce the importance of good practices such as regular handwashing and cleaning surfaces.

“At 20 degrees Celsius, which is about room temperature, we found that the virus was extremely robust, surviving for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as glass found on mobile phone screens and plastic banknotes.

“For context, similar experiments for Influenza A have found that it survived on surfaces for 17 days, which highlights just how resilient SARS-CoV-2 is.”

Further experiments were carried out at 30 and 40 degrees Celsius, with survival times decreasing as the temperature increased.

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