Coronavirus Stays For 5 Days – 2 Weeks In Rooms, Toilets If Not Disinfected
CORONAVIRUS STAYS IN ROOMS – The outbreak of the new coronavirus had spread globally at a much faster rate than anticipated, still, much is yet to be known about it.
In countries like South Korea, Italy, and Japan, the virus had spiked significantly. This caused the three countries to place emergency level alerts in an attempt to contain the virus.
Another heavily-hit country was Singapore. Experts believed the virus already had a community-wide spread. Since then, experts have been on a race to contain the outbreak.
Following this, new research from Singapore revealed that patients with COVID-19 had extensively contaminated their bedrooms and bathrooms. In lieu of this, they emphasized the importance of routine cleaning high-touch surfaces like basins and toilets.
According to a report from ABS-CBN, the research was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The research followed after cases in China revealed how the pathogen spread extensively through Hospitals, infecting dozens.
This led scientists to believe that environmental contamination was a key factor in the virus’s transmission. However, the extent of this was unclear.
Meanwhile, Researchers at Singapore’s National Center for Infectious Diseases and DSO National Laboratories looked at the case of three COVID-19 patients in isolation.
They collected samples from their rooms on a 5 day to 2 week period. As per the report, the room of one patient was sampled before routine cleaning while the other was sampled after disinfection.
The patient’s room who was sampled before cleaning revealed that 13 of 15 room sites were contaminated. This included a chair, the bed rail, a glass window, the floor, and light switches.
Additionally, 3 of the 5 toilets sites also tested positive for the virus, including the sink, door handle, and toilet bowl. This is another evidence that stool could be a method of transmission.
Air samples tested negative, however, swaps taken from air exhaust outlets were positive for COVID-19. This suggested that the droplets may be carried by air flows and deposited on vents.
Significant environmental contamination by patients with SARS-CoV-2 through respiratory droplets and fecal shedding suggests the environment as a potential medium of transmission and supports the need for strict adherence to environmental and hand hygiene
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