Everyday objects and the coronavirus

Cellphones and keyboards, credit cards and cash, subway straps and car doors — it’s hard to imagine a 21st-century life without them. But it turns out that these props to modern existence, objects that we often take for granted, can also be carriers of the coronavirus. How big is the risk? When it comes to the newest version of coronavirus, the one that causes the disease covid-19, it’s still too early to know.

But in a study earlier this year, researchers who reviewed more than 20 published papers on previous coronaviruses, such as those that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), found that they can survive on metal, paper and glass for up to nine days.

(That’s at room temperature; temperatures above 86 degrees shortened that time).

That’s longer than the typical life span of flu viruses, which remain infectious on surfaces for about 48 hours. And in their findings, the researchers warned of the risk of people catching the virus in health care settings especially, by touching surfaces where it has recently landed and then touching their faces.

But it’s still far more likely for the virus to spread by person-to-person contact. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus typically spreads among people within about a six-foot radius. A person with covid-19 spreads viral particles through coughing or sneezing, and those particles land on the mouths or noses of people nearby.

Wiping down surfaces with common household cleansers will get rid of lingering viruses. So will alcohol-based hand sanitizer. In its coronavirus guidance, the CDC recommends daily cleaning of high-touch surfaces including countertops, doorknobs, keyboards and bathroom fixtures with household cleaning sprays or wipes.