"Extremely robust" Coronavirus could last for 28 days on smartphones, currency: Study

A team of Australian researchers have discovered that the COVID-19 virus can survive at room temperature for up to 28 days on surfaces like glass, stainless steel and currency notes, much longer than the flu, highlighting the need for cleaning and washing hands regularly.

The study from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO suggests that the new Coronavirus is “extremely robust” and can remain infectious for much longer than perceived before. It could last longer at lower temperatures and on smoother surfaces like the glass of cell phone screens and banknotes. 

The researchers measured the survival rates of the deadly virus on different surfaces at temperatures of 20, 30, and 40 degrees. However, the experiment was conducted in the dark UV light which is known to kill Coronavirus. The study shows that the virus could be more resilient than flu under the conditions it survived for 17 days.

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Why is the study critical?

While Coronavirus is mostly transmitted through droplets of cough or by sneezing of infected people, it can be infected by touching contaminated surfaces. The study emphasises the need to maintain proper levels of hygiene, particularly through diligent handwashing and surface cleaning. It is also important to remember that the research was conducted under laboratory conditions that may not effectively represent real life.

Dr Debbie Eagles, one of the authors of the paper, said, at 20 degrees Celsius, which is about room temperature, it was found that the virus was extremely robust, surviving for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as glass found on mobile phone screens and plastic banknotes.

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Countering the study, Professor Ron Eccles, former director of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University said the suggestion that COVID-19 could survive for 28 days causes “unnecessary fear in the public.” He noted that the study did not use “fresh human mucus as a transmitter of the virus,” which would normally help neutralize viruses. He opined that infectious viruses only persist for hours in mucus on surfaces rather than days. 

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