Anthony Constantinou Explain Coronavirus Life on Different Surfaces?

The coronavirus is mainly spreading from person to person. The infected person when coughs or sneezes, send droplets that contains the virus into the air. When a healthy person breathes in those droplets, they become infected too. However, virus can also affect if we touch a surface or object containing the virus and then touch our mouth, nose, or eyes.

The coronavirus life various on different surfaces from hours to days. It survival depends on the surface material. Anthony Constantinou provides a guide to how long coronaviruses can live on the surfaces we often touch every day.

Remember researchers still have lots of things to learn about the new pandemic. But you’re likely to catch the virus from being around infected person or from touching a contaminated surface.

Different Kinds of Surfaces

Metal: Stays five days, for example, doorknobs, jewelry, silverware.

Wood: Stays four days, for example, furniture, decking.

Plastics: Stays up to 2 to 3 days, for example, milk containers, bottles, bus seats, backpacks, elevator buttons etc.

Stainless steel: Stays up to 2 to 3 days, for example, refrigerators, sinks etc.

Cardboard: Stays up to 24 hours, for example, shipping boxes

Copper: Stay for four hours, for example, pennies, teakettles, and cookware

Aluminum: Stays up to 2 to 8 hours, for example, soda cans, tinfoil, water bottles

Glass: Stays up to 5 days, for example, drinking glasses, measuring cups, mirrors, windows

Ceramics: Stays up to 5 days, for example, dishes, pottery, mugs.

Paper: The period varies, some strains remain for only a few minutes while others live for up to five days.

Food: Coronavirus doesn't look to spread via food.

Water: No evidence found. If you still feel that it get into the water supply, then disinfects the water, which will kill any germs.

Fabrics: Not much research done on the fabrics like clothes, linens about how long the virus lives on, however, it’s possibly not as long as on hard surfaces.

Shoes: One study taken the example of the shoe soles used by medical staff and their research highlighted that half were positive for nucleic acids from the virus. However, it’s still unclear whether these parts of the virus spread infection.

Skin and hair: Still no research on exactly how long the virus can live on our skin or hair, however, rhinoviruses generally cause colds, live for hours. That’s why it’s crucial to wash or disinfect our body, particularly hands that are mostly come into contact with contaminated areas.

Conclusion:

Cleaning and disinfecting common surfaces and objects in our home and office every day is the preventive way to reduce our chance of catching or spreading the new coronavirus. The virus highest risk comes from the person, who is having cough, fever and sneezing problem. We must limit our contact with everyone as much as we can. We might also wash our hands frequently, maintain social distancing and use disinfectant regularly on all surfaces.