May 2020 | Alex W H Chin, Julie T S Chu, Mahen R A Perera, Kerrie P Y Hui, Hui-Ling Yen, Michael C W Chan, Malik Peiris, *Lee L M Poon
The COVID-19 Resource Centre, established by Elsevier in January 2020, provides free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus. Elsevier has granted permission to make all COVID-19-related research available in PubMed Central and other public repositories, with unrestricted reuse and analysis rights, as long as the resource centre remains active.
The stability of SARS-CoV-2 in different environmental conditions was investigated. The virus was found to be highly stable at 4°C but sensitive to heat, with a 0.7 log-unit reduction in infectivity after 14 days. At 70°C, inactivation occurred within 5 minutes. On different surfaces, SARS-CoV-2 was more stable on smooth surfaces like glass and banknotes, detectable up to day 4, and on stainless steel and plastic up to day 7. A detectable level of infectious virus was still present on the outer layer of a surgical mask on day 7. Disinfectants effectively inactivated the virus within 5 minutes, except for hand soap. SARS-CoV-2 also remained stable across a wide pH range (pH 3–10). Overall, while SARS-CoV-2 is highly stable in favorable conditions, it is susceptible to standard disinfection methods.The COVID-19 Resource Centre, established by Elsevier in January 2020, provides free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus. Elsevier has granted permission to make all COVID-19-related research available in PubMed Central and other public repositories, with unrestricted reuse and analysis rights, as long as the resource centre remains active.
The stability of SARS-CoV-2 in different environmental conditions was investigated. The virus was found to be highly stable at 4°C but sensitive to heat, with a 0.7 log-unit reduction in infectivity after 14 days. At 70°C, inactivation occurred within 5 minutes. On different surfaces, SARS-CoV-2 was more stable on smooth surfaces like glass and banknotes, detectable up to day 4, and on stainless steel and plastic up to day 7. A detectable level of infectious virus was still present on the outer layer of a surgical mask on day 7. Disinfectants effectively inactivated the virus within 5 minutes, except for hand soap. SARS-CoV-2 also remained stable across a wide pH range (pH 3–10). Overall, while SARS-CoV-2 is highly stable in favorable conditions, it is susceptible to standard disinfection methods.