"COVID-19 Virus Survives Up to 28 Days on Mobile Phone Screens and Banknotes"

Existing Research Results Show Much Longer Duration Than 2-6 Days... Influenza Virus Survives for 17 Days

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] A new study has found that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can survive for up to 28 days on surfaces such as mobile phone screens and banknotes. Previous studies had reported the virus's survival period to be around 2 to 6 days, but this research shows it can persist much longer.

According to BBC and others on the 11th, Australia's Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) published research in the Journal of Virology showing that SARS-CoV-2 can survive up to 28 days on glass surfaces like mobile phone screens and on banknotes. The experiments were conducted at room temperature of 20°C in a dark environment without light exposure.

The results showed that on smooth surfaces such as mobile phone screens, plastic, and paper banknotes, the COVID-19 virus SARS-CoV-2 survived for 28 days. Under the same conditions, the influenza virus was found to survive for 17 days.

Considering previous studies indicated that the COVID-19 virus could survive 2 to 3 days on banknotes or glass surfaces and up to 6 days on plastic or stainless steel surfaces, this means the virus can persist for a significantly longer period without disappearing.

SARS-CoV-2's survival period was less than one day at 40°C, indicating stronger survival ability at lower temperatures, which suggests that controlling the virus may be more difficult in winter than in summer, foreign media reported. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 was found to survive longer on smooth surfaces than on porous materials like cloth, which lose infectivity after 14 days. Previous studies also showed that exposure to ultraviolet light eliminates the virus.

Australia's Centre for Disease Preparedness described SARS-CoV-2 as "very robust." Deputy Director Debbie Eagles of the center said, "The study results show that SARS-CoV-2 can maintain infectivity on surfaces for a long time," emphasizing the importance of regular hand washing and disinfection.

However, BBC explained that COVID-19 is mainly transmitted through the air via coughing, sneezing, or talking, and while infection through surfaces like mobile phone screens or banknotes can occur in real life, it is not frequent.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.