KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, can live for up to 28 days on surfaces like the glass on mobile phones and paper banknotes, according to new Australian research.
The Guardian reported yesterday that the study by the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) found that SARS-CoV-2 survived longer at lower temperatures, such as 20 degree Celsius, compared to 30 and 40 degree Celsius where the virus’ survival times decreased as temperatures increased.
Australia’s national science agency CSIRO was also quoted saying that the virus survived longer on paper banknotes rather than plastic ones, and that SARS-CoV-2 lived longer on smooth surfaces rather than porous ones like cotton.
The virus can also reportedly survive for up to 28 days on other surfaces like stainless steel and vinyl.
The Australian research, published in the Virology Journal, reportedly found that the virus which causes Covid-19 lasted 10 days longer than influenza on certain surfaces.
“At 20C, which is about room temperature, we found that the virus was extremely robust, surviving for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as glass found on mobile phone screens,” ACDP deputy director Dr Debbie Eagles was quoted saying.
Similar experiments for Influenza A found that the virus survived on surfaces for 17 days, according to the Guardian.
