Q -How long can Coronavirus survive on surfaces?
A – Current information suggests that the coronavirus can live on surfaces for up to 3 days.
If a person infected with Covid-19 touches a surface, indoors or outside, they may leave the virus on that surface for two to three days. Therefore, if your business has had a carrier of the disease or someone infected with the disease within it in the last week, it is fair to assume some cleaning will be required. The chances obviously depend on the numbers of people using the space and whether infection might have passed to more people within that space through physical contact, respiration or via surface contact. It is worth noting also, that products bought in the shops or supermarket may also transfer the coronavirus if they have been handled by an infected worker. In all of these cases, the coronavirus is likely to survive for somewhere between 2 and 3 days.
Touchpoints that are more common in contact with people increase the risk, such as door handles, handrails, light switches, computer equipment etc. Therefore, these touchpoints should be the priority of any deep cleaning. A recent study found that the coronavirus can survive on hard surfaces such as plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours, though less on softer surfaces such as fabric and cardboard, probably for up to 24 hours.
“This virus has the capability for remaining viable for days,” says study author, James Lloyd-Smith, Assistant Professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California.
