The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidelines to state that there is no significant risk of getting the new coronavirus off the surface.
CDC updated the surface guidance
The CDC said people generally do not touch COVID-19. People generally get COVID-19 from direct contact with someone who is infected or by air transmission.
- “It is possible for people to become infected through contact with infected surfaces or objects (fomites), but the risk is generally considered low,” the CDC said in its updated guidelines.
According to the CDC, a thorough cleaning or scrubbing will be sufficient to remove the new coronavirus from surfaces as well, according to ABC News.
- “Regular cleaning, at least once a day, effectively with soap or detergent can significantly lower virus levels on surfaces,” the CDC told ABC News.
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CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said that disinfection is only recommended within the last 24 hours in schools and homes where COVID-19 has been suspected or confirmed.
Fears of COVID-19 and surfaces
Research launched early in the coronavirus pandemic suggested that COVID-19 could live on surfaces for 19 days, fearing that touching surfaces, Amazon packages and groceries could lead to the spread of the virus, as I told Deseret News wrote.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in October that the coronavirus that spreads on surfaces is not considered a common way of spreading the virus, as I wrote for Deseret News.
The Derek Thompson of the Atlantic wrote extensively on this topic in February, explaining how hygienic theater is a waste of time. He explained that companies and businesses have added hand sanitizers, cleaning methods and more to create the impression that they are freeing up the COVID-19 business. But really, contamination of surfaces was highly unlikely.