This week, coronavirus cases around the world have skyrocketed, leading to widespread fears about the spread of the virus.
Now, scientists have revealed that the virus may be able to survive on surfaces for much longer than previously thought.
While initial studies indicated that the virus could survive for up to three days of plastic and stainless steel, an analysis of an evacuated cruise ship suggests that the virus can actually survive for up to 17 days.
Researchers from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered traces of the virus in the rooms of infected passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, 17 days after they had left.
The ship had more than 700 coronavirus cases and was quarantined for a time off of Yokohama, Japan.
In the study, the researchers looked at uncleaned rooms and discovered traces of the virus on several surfaces.
However, other research has found that cleaning the rooms was highly effective at killing the virus.
In a report about the findings, the CDC explained: “SARS-CoV-2 RNA was identified on a variety of surfaces in cabins of both symptomatic and asymptomatic infected passengers up to 17 days after cabins were vacated on the Diamond Princess but before disinfection procedures had been conducted.
“Although these data cannot be used to determine whether transmission occurred from contaminated surfaces, further study of fomite transmission of SARS-CoV-2 aboard cruise ships is warranted.”
The findings comes shortly after researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Montana analysed how long the COVID-19 virus can survive on cardboard, plastic and steel.
Their analysis revealed that the virus can survive for up to four hours on copper and up to 24 hours on cardboard.
However, the results indicate that the virus can survive for the longest time on plastic and stainless steel, surviving for up to three days.
Meanwhile, the study also found that the virus could be detected in aerosols, up to three hours post aerosolisation.
