New study finds coronavirus can survive in air for hours, on surfaces for days

New research suggests the highly contagious virus that causes COVID-19 can stay viable in the air for hours and live on some surfaces for days.

A new study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Princeton University and UCLA published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests the coronavirus is still viable in aerosols, when the virus becomes suspended in droplets when someone coughs or sneezes, for up to three hours.

On surfaces such as plastic and stainless steel, the virus survived for up to two to three days. On cardboard the virus was viable up to 24 hours and just up to four hours on copper. The research provides key information about the stability of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, and suggests people could become infected through the air and after touching contaminated objects.

More