How COVID-19 Spreads

The COVID-19 virus spreads easily and sustainably between people. This is a summary of articles I have found on how COVID-19 spreads. This summary should not be used as medical advice. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions. Since there are many ways that COVID-19 spreads so it’s important to know how to protect yourself. Check out my summary of how to protect yourself.

In this summary I cover;

Person to Person Transfer
Surface to Person Transfer

Person to Person Transfer

When someone who is infected coughs or sneezes, they send droplets containing the virus into the air. A healthy person can then breathe in those droplets.

A simple sneeze can release COVID-19 particles far beyond six feet. The Los Angeles local NBC station has a video showing how far a sneeze can go at https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/a-simple-sneeze-can-release-covid-19-particles-far-beyond-6-feet/2348031/

In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it states that COVID-19 Particles can stay in the air for up to 3 hours in calm air. https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMc2004973

Surface to Person Transfer

You can catch the virus if you touch a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touch your mouth, nose, or eyes. Scientists are still learning about how long COVID-19 can survive on different surfaces. At this point in time researchers don’t know whether exposure to heat, cold, or sunlight affects how long the COVID-10 virus can survive on surfaces.

Please check with your doctor if you have any questions or want to know the latest findings about COVID-19 surviving on surfaces. These notes should not be considered medical advice.

WebMD	W.H.O.	N.I.H	N.E.J.M	Lancet
Aerosols (Airborne)
		Up to 3 hours	Up to 3 hours
Metal
5 days
Wood
4 days				Up to 2 days
Plastics
2 to 3 days	Up to 3 days	2 to 3 days	Up to 3 days	Up to 7 days
Stainless steel
2 to 3 days	Up to 3 days	2 to 3 days	Up to 3 days	Up to 7 days
Cardboard
24 hours	Less than 24 hours	Up to 24 hours	Up to 24 hours	24 Hours
Copper
4 hours	Less than 4 hours	4 hours	Less than 4 hours	Up to 4 hours
Aluminum
2 to 8 hours
Glass
Up to 5 days				Up to 4 days
Paper
Varies (Some strains of coronavirus live for only a few minutes on paper, while others live for up to 5 days)				3 hours on printing and tissue paper, Up to two days on banknotes
Food¹
No spread		No spread according to C.D.C
Water
No spread		No spread according to C.D.C

Other Surfaces Coronaviruses can live on a variety of other surfaces, like fabrics (.i.e. clothing and linens) and countertops. The Lancet study showed that COVID-19 can exist on cloth for up to two days. One study tested the shoe soles of medical staff in a Chinese hospital intensive care unit (ICU) and found that half were positive for nucleic acids from the virus. But it’s not clear whether these pieces of the virus cause infection. The hospital’s general ward, which had people with milder cases, was less contaminated than the ICU. Coronavirus Transmission: What You Need to Know

¹⁾Food Coronavirus doesn’t seem to spread through exposure to food. Still, it’s a good idea to wash fruits and vegetables under running water before you eat them. Scrub them with a brush or your hands to remove any germs that might be on their surface. Wash your hands after you visit the supermarket. If you have a weakened immune system, you might want to buy frozen or canned produce.