Preventing Possible Spread and Transmission of Corona Virus From High Contaminated Surfaces
Dr. Ajay Jain
Jun 4, 2020
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Preventing possible spread and transmission of corona virus from high contaminated surfaces:
The new study of many researchers like The New England Journal of medicine (NEJM) and the National Institute of Health (NIH), USA. As per their research, coronavirus can be active for up to 3 hours in the air and maybe longer than that on surfaces like plastic, fabric, steel and others. So what precautions we must follow to prevent the spread and transmission of coronavirus from these high contaminated surfaces in our homes and working places are mentioned in this article so read it to know more.
As per study the transmission of coronavirus onto surfaces in regular households and hospital settings, the duration of virus is viable in different surfaces.
- 2 to 3 days on plastic and stainless steel.
- 24 hours on cardboard.
- 4 hours on copper.
The virus can be detected in aerosols up to 3 hours. It means it is possible to get the infection if one person comes nearby to an infected person or touches any contaminated surface and then touches his face.
A other study suggests that the virus surviving on hard surfaces are higher than soft surfaces like cloths and fabric but still it’s not clear how long it survive. So it’s confirmed that your cloths can be carrier of virus if you already touched any contaminated surface.
So your cloths can transmit virus but only when you use the contaminated fabric to cover or wipe your face or touch your face with your hands after your hands contacted with your cloths. That’s why we always advised to wash your hands frequently or sanitize them regularly.
Using Cloth Masks:-
The coronavirus can remain in the air for up to 3 hours so it is very important to cover your nose and mouth with the mask. According to the WHO everyone must cover their face with mask when stepping outside like grocery or medical facility.
The CDC recommended that each and everyone should cover face with scarves or bandanas or any other fabric for precautionary measure. So you should also advise others to use them whenever step out from home and reuse only after wash it. In any case if they remove it ensure that do not touch their face after removing or place it on any surface.
Follow sanitization after touching surfaces:
When you are out for important needs or working in office always maintain 6 feet distance from others and do not touch any surfaces. If accidently you have touched any surfaces then do not touch your hands on your face and sanitize them immediately. It is better to avoid hard surface on your cloths like buttons and zippers because virus can survive longer on hard surfaces.
Always check ingredients of your hand sanitizer which should have 60% ethanol/alcohol at least, that proves effective in disinfecting your hands.
If you brought groceries with plastic packing then disinfecting or cleaning them with safe cleaning solution or clean them with mix soap/detergent and water. It can definitely lower the chances of virus transmission. If you are not sure about how to clean or disinfect some item then set aside for 3 days and then use it.
Clean the area or surfaces that one may have touched after returning from outside like doorbell and doorknobs. Also regular cleaning of frequently contacted surfaces like keyboard, remote controls, chairs, tables, taps, bed covers, chargers, bag handle, stair railing, keys, wallet etc with cleaning solution or alcohol based sanitizer.
Clothes worn out of home:
If you are returning from work or out, change your cloths and wash them as soon as you back to home especially health care workers.
How you handle your laundry is also very important. If you dumped your laundry in basket then make sure after washing your cloths you also disinfect basket. Use disposable gloves while washing your clothes or make sure do not touch your face by hands during washing your clothes. Wash your clothes in warm water and dry them well under sun light. Wash your hands before touching washed clothes and after drying it too.
Clothes of sick family member:
Anyone who is attending infected person at home but use all precautions very carefully and avoid direct contact with them and their used items also.
You can wash their clothes with disposable gloves and use same precaution measure as mentioned above when you wash your own clothes. Use fresh gloves every time and also wash your hands with soap and water after you discard gloves.
Try to maintain a separate washroom for infected person. This will lower the possibility of transmission to another family member. If there is no other washroom then clean and disinfect each time with cleaning solution after used by infected person.
Above precaution and social distancing followed by proper hand hygiene and other precautions, sanitization of surfaces is must. Share this information with others and fight COVID-19.
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