COVID-19 virus does survive on some surfaces for 'days to weeks': Experts

As a multiresearch team from the UK the US and Canada warned in a Lancet study last week that SARSCoV2 virus which causes Covid19 is predominantly transmitted through the air Indian experts on Tuesday said that such understanding already exists and while further research is required to support this claim people need to be wary of both air and surface transmissionsThe researchers in the Lancet study found little to no evidence that the virus spreads easily via large droplets which fall quickly through the air and contaminate surfaces The study said that if an infectious virus is primarily airborne someone can potentially be infected when they inhale aerosols produced when an infected person exhales speaks shouts sings or sneezesHowever according to Indian experts both the surface especially indoors and air modes of transmission have to be factored in while making strategies on how to deal with the deadly virus Recently published Lancet correspondence only gives few directions towards the aerosol mode of spread of Covid However there is a lack of experimental evidence in the support of this Hence further research is required to support this claim Dr Harshal R Salve Associate Professor at Centre for Community Medicine AIIMS New Delhi told IANSNumerous researchers have studied how long SARSCoV2 can survive on a variety of porous and nonporous surfaces On porous surfaces studies report inability to detect viable virus within minutes to hours on nonporous surfaces like stainless steel plastic and glass viable virus can be detected for days to weeks The apparent relatively faster inactivation of SARSCoV2 on porous compared with nonporous surfaces might be attributable to capillary action within pores and faster aerosol droplet evaporationAccording to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC the risk of transmission from touching a surface while small is elevated indoors Outdoors the sun and other factors can destroy viruses Vincent Hill Chief of the Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch at the CDC was quoted as saying in a CNN report on MondayResearch also suggested that surface transmission was more likely in the first 24 hours after a person is infected and that households where one person had Covid19 did have lower transmission rates when the household cleaned and disinfected surfaces the report noted Data from surface survival studies indicate that a 99 per cent reduction in infectious SARSCoV2 and other coronaviruses can be expected under typical indoor environmental conditions within 3 days 72 hours on common nonporous surfaces like stainless steel plastic and glassAccording to Dr Rahul Bhargava cancer expert and Director Department of Clinical Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Fortis Hospital it is already known that Covid is an airborne thing It also tells us that if you are in a crowded place people who are sneezing and coughing have a higher potential to spread the virus that can lead to massive surge in Covid infections he saidPeople can be infected with SARSCoV2 through contact with surfaces However based on available epidemiological data and studies of environmental transmission factors surface transmission is not the main route by which SARSCoV2 spreads and the risk is considered to be low according to the CDC According to Salve we need to keep wearing masks both outdoor and indoor maintain social distance and ensure adequate cross ventilation in close spaces to control the spread of CovidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever