For more than a week, people have been watching a shocking report stating that the new coronavirus can survive on cardboard surfaces for 24 hours and plastic and stainless steel surfaces for up to 3 days.
Scientists have published research results on the data. They said that the coronavirus can survive on plastic surfaces for three days, but the situation is much more complicated. Usually, the virus drops sharply within a few hours.
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The key factor here is what scientists call the viral half-life, or decay rate: how long it takes for half of the microorganisms in a given sample to die.
When scientists dropped a new coronavirus on a plastic surface, they found that 50% of the virus died after about 7 hours, and half of the remaining virus died after another 7 hours.
By the end of the second day, less than 1% of the total virus remained, and the remaining virus was almost undetectable after 3 days.
For stainless steel surfaces, the half-life of the new coronavirus is 5-6 hours, while for cardboard, it is even shorter: less than 4 hours.
The newest coronavirus has the shortest survival time on the surface of copper. Copper has strong antibacterial properties. When the new coronavirus drops on the copper surface, half of the virus will die in 45 minutes.
Dylan H. Morris, co-author of the research report and a researcher at the University of Princeton, said that what is important is how many viruses are initially, and the more viruses are deposited on the surface of the object, the more remains after half of the virus dies.
If researchers use larger or more droplets, theoretically, the new coronavirus will survive on plastic surfaces for three days. "The absolute amount of time the virus will eventually go undetected depends on how many viruses you initially had," Morris said.
Gregory A. Poland, a vaccine researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said: "The latest research will reassure those who are worried about touching the mail."
Recently, Polante stated in a public radio hotline program that, in general, the less the number of exposures to the virus, the less likely the virus will develop a full infection. When exposed to sunlight and warmer environments, the virus may decay faster than the laboratory.
People can recognize the virus on the surface of the object, but this does not mean that it is contagious. However, it's best to wash your hands after taking things out of the bag, opening a new envelope, or receiving a newspaper. Soap and water will help eliminate the virus.
Morris and colleagues also compared the survivability of the new coronavirus on the surface of different objects, and the survivability of another coronavirus, the SARS virus. As a result, the two viruses are very similar. The surface decays faster.
Researchers are now planning a more comprehensive follow-up study to analyze the resistance of the new coronavirus to different temperatures and humidity and compare it to influenza. Morris pointed out that given the rapid spread of the new coronavirus, this latest study will give people a better understanding of the new coronavirus.
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