Coronavirus ‘can survive for 28 days on surfaces’ – study

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can survive on items like banknotes and phones for up to 28 days in cool, dark conditions, according to a study by Australia’s national scientific agency.

Researchers from the CSIRO Center for Disease Preparedness tested the longevity of SARS-CoV-2 in the dark at three temperatures, showing that survival rates declined as conditions became warmer, the agency said Monday.

The scientists found that at 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), SARSCoV-2 was “extremely robust” on smooth surfaces, such as mobile phone screens, and survived for 28 days on glass, steel and plastic banknotes.

At 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), the survival rate dropped to seven days and dropped to just 24 hours at 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

The virus survived for shorter periods on porous surfaces like cotton, up to 14 days at the lowest temperatures and less than 16 hours at the highest, the researchers said.

This was “significantly longer” than previous studies that found the disease could survive up to four days on non-porous surfaces, according to the peer-reviewed article published in the Virology Journal.

Trevor Drew, director of the Australian Center for Disease Preparedness, said the study involved drying samples of the virus on different materials before testing them.

He added that if a person was “careless with these materials and touched them and then licked their hands or touched their eyes or nose, it is very possible that they will become infected more than two weeks after they were contaminated.”