Coronavirus Can Survive 30 Mins And Travel 4.5 Metres In Air, Reveals Shocking New Study

Coronavirus is on everyone¡¯s mind today and with every passing day, we come across some news or the other that makes us a little more scared of this epidemic-causing disease.

Reuters

We have been covering our faces, washing our hands more often and taking personal hygiene a lot more seriously in these troubled times to stay safe from the novel coronavirus and now a study has revealed that the virus is way more persistent than we think.

A recent study has revealed that the COVID-19 can linger in the air for at least 30 minutes and travel up to 4.5 metres -- which is way more than the safe distance that health authorities have been advising us.

This discovery was made by a team of Chinese government epidemiologists. The study has also revealed that COVID-19 can also survive for days on surfaces where the infected water droplets have landed, which when comes in contact with another person, can easily infect them when he/she rubs the face without disinfecting or washing hands.

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The survival rate of the virus is dependent on various factors such as the temperature of the environment. For instance, at 37 degrees celsius, it has the ability to survive for two to three days on surfaces made from glass, fabric, metal plastic and paper.

This study is based on an outbreak case from January 22 in Hunan province in China, where a passenger (who felt sick at the time) boarded a fully-booked long-distance coach during peak Lunar Year travel season (before coronavirus was declared a national crisis). He wasn¡¯t wearing a mask, neither were other people on the 48-seater bus, resulting in many passengers getting infected on the four-hour journey.

Even though the sick passenger didn¡¯t interact with others on the closed bus, but by the time the bus reached the next city, he had already infected seven others. This included people not just sitting next to him/her but also some sitting six rows away -- around 4.5 metres away.

Reuters

Researchers said in the study published in peer-review journal Practical Preventive Medicine ¡°It can be confirmed that in a closed environment with air-conditioning, the transmission distance of the new coronavirus will exceed the commonly recognised safe distance.¡±

The further found that COVID-19 could easily survive for more than five days in human faeces or bodily fluids.

They further added, ¡°Our advice is to wear a face mask all the way [through the bus ride]. When riding on more closed public transportation such as subways, cars, planes, etc, you should wear a mask all the time, and at the same time, minimise the contact between your hands and public areas, and avoid touching your face before cleaning.¡±