COVID-19

=== Surface cleaning ===
After being expelled from the body, coronaviruses can survive on surfaces for hours to days. If a person touches the dirty surface, they may deposit the virus at the eyes, nose, or mouth where it can enter the body and cause infection.<ref name="CDCTrans">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html |title=How COVID-19 Spreads |date=18 September 2020 |website=U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919224920/https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fprepare%2Ftransmission.html |archive-date=19 September 2020 |access-date=20 September 2020}}</ref> Evidence indicates that contact with infected surfaces is not the main driver of COVID‑19,<ref>{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Goldman E | title = Exaggerated risk of transmission of COVID-19 by fomites | journal = The Lancet. Infectious Diseases | volume = 20 | issue = 8 | pages = 892–893 | date = August 2020 | pmid = 32628907 | pmc = 7333993 | doi = 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30561-2 }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web|| vauthors = Weixel N |date=5 April 2021|title=CDC says risk of COVID-19 transmission on surfaces 1 in 10,000|url=https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/546541-cdc-risk-of-covid-transmission-on-surfaces-is-low|access-date=19 December 2021|website=The Hill}}</ref><ref name="cdc.gov">{{#invoke:Cite web||date=5 April 2021|title=Science Brief: SARS-CoV-2 and Surface (Fomite) Transmission for Indoor Community Environments|url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html|url-status=live |website=U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405151126/https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html |archive-date=5 April 2021 }}</ref> leading to recommendations for optimised disinfection procedures to avoid issues such as the increase of [[antimicrobial resistance]] through the use of inappropriate cleaning products and processes.<ref name="disinfection-foodindus" /><ref>{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Rezasoltani S, Yadegar A, Hatami B, Asadzadeh Aghdaei H, Zali MR | title = Antimicrobial Resistance as a Hidden Menace Lurking Behind the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Global Impacts of Too Much Hygiene on AMR | journal = Frontiers in Microbiology | volume = 11 | pages = 590683 | year = 2020 | pmid = 33384670 | pmc = 7769770 | doi = 10.3389/fmicb.2020.590683 | doi-access = free | title-link = doi }}</ref> [[Deep clean (COVID-19)|Deep cleaning]] and other surface sanitation has been criticised as [[hygiene theater|hygiene theatre]], giving a false sense of security against something primarily spread through the air.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web|| vauthors = Thompson D |date=8 February 2021|title=Hygiene Theater Is Still a Huge Waste of Time|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/02/hygiene-theater-still-waste/617939/|access-date=27 February 2021|website=The Atlantic }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web|| vauthors = Thompson D |date=27 July 2020|title=Hygiene Theater Is a Huge Waste of Time |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/scourge-hygiene-theater/614599/|access-date=27 February 2021|website=The Atlantic }}</ref>

The amount of time that the virus can survive depends significantly on the type of surface, the temperature, and the humidity.<ref name="Bueckert-2020">{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Bueckert M, Gupta R, Gupta A, Garg M, Mazumder A | title = Infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Coronaviruses on Dry Surfaces: Potential for Indirect Transmission | journal = Materials | volume = 13 | issue = 22 | page = 5211 | date = November 2020 | pmid = 33218120 | pmc = 7698891 | doi = 10.3390/ma13225211 | bibcode = 2020Mate...13.5211B | doi-access = free | title-link = doi }}</ref> Coronaviruses die very quickly when exposed to the [[UV light]] in [[sunlight]].<ref name="Bueckert-2020" /> Like other enveloped viruses, SARS-CoV-2 survives longest when the temperature is at [[room temperature]] or lower, and when the [[relative humidity]] is low (<50%).<ref name="Bueckert-2020" />

On many surfaces, including glass, some types of plastic, stainless steel, and skin, the virus can remain infective for several days indoors at room temperature, or even about a week under ideal conditions.<ref name="Bueckert-2020" /><ref>{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Bhardwaj R, Agrawal A | title = How coronavirus survives for days on surfaces | journal = Physics of Fluids | volume = 32 | issue = 11 | pages = 111706 | date = November 2020 | pmid = 33281435 | pmc = 7713872 | doi = 10.1063/5.0033306 | bibcode = 2020PhFl...32k1706B }}</ref> On some surfaces, including cotton fabric and copper, the virus usually dies after a few hours.<ref name="Bueckert-2020" /> The virus dies faster on porous surfaces than on non-porous surfaces due to capillary action within pores and faster aerosol droplet evaporation.<ref>{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Chatterjee S, Murallidharan JS, Agrawal A, Bhardwaj R | title = Why coronavirus survives longer on impermeable than porous surfaces | journal = Physics of Fluids | volume = 33 | issue = 2 | pages = 021701 | date = February 2021 | pmid = 33746485 | pmc = 7978145 | doi = 10.1063/5.0037924 | bibcode = 2021PhFl...33b1701C }}</ref><ref name="cdc.gov" /><ref name="Bueckert-2020" /> However, of the many surfaces tested, two with the longest survival times are N95 respirator masks and surgical masks, both of which are considered porous surfaces.<ref name="Bueckert-2020" />

The CDC says that in most situations, cleaning surfaces with soap or detergent, not disinfecting, is enough to reduce risk of transmission.<ref name="CDC-2020a">{{#invoke:Cite web||last=CDC|date=11 February 2020|title=Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)|url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html|access-date=12 April 2021|website=U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:cite news|| vauthors = Anthes E |date=8 April 2021|title=Has the Era of Overzealous Cleaning Finally Come to an End?|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/health/coronavirus-hygiene-cleaning-surfaces.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/health/coronavirus-hygiene-cleaning-surfaces.html |archive-date=28 December 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=12 April 2021| url-status=live }}</ref> The CDC recommends that if a COVID‑19 case is suspected or confirmed at a facility such as an office or day care, all areas such as offices, bathrooms, common areas, shared electronic equipment like tablets, touch screens, keyboards, remote controls, and ATMs used by the ill persons should be disinfected.<ref name="sxygw">{{#invoke:Cite web||date=11 February 2020|title=Interim Recommendations for US Community Facilities with Suspected/Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019|url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/cleaning-disinfection.html|access-date=4 April 2020|publisher=U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC)}}</ref> Surfaces may be decontaminated with 62–71 per cent [[ethanol]], 50–100 per cent isopropanol, 0.1 per cent [[sodium hypochlorite]], 0.5 per cent hydrogen peroxide, 0.2–7.5 per cent [[povidone-iodine]], or 50–200 ppm [[hypochlorous acid]]. Other solutions, such as [[benzalkonium chloride]] and [[chlorhexidine gluconate]], are less effective. [[Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation]] may also be used,<ref name="CDCasof07092020">{{#invoke:Cite web||date=9 July 2020|title=COVID-19 Employer Information for Office Buildings|url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/office-buildings.html|access-date=9 July 2020|website=U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC)|vauthors=((National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)))}}</ref> although popular devices require {{val|5|-|10|u=min}} exposure and may deteriorate some materials over time.<ref>{{#invoke:cite news ||title=Yes, UV phone sanitizers work. That doesn't mean you need one. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/02/16/uv-sanitizer-phone-covid-germs/ |access-date=29 April 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=16 February 2021}}</ref> A datasheet comprising the authorised substances to disinfection in the food industry (including suspension or surface tested, kind of surface, use dilution, disinfectant and inoculum volumes) can be seen in the supplementary material of.<ref name="disinfection-foodindus">{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Pedreira A, Taşkın Y, García MR | title = A Critical Review of Disinfection Processes to Control SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in the Food Industry | journal = Foods | volume = 10 | issue = 2 | page = 283 | date = January 2021 | pmid = 33572531 | pmc = 7911259 | doi = 10.3390/foods10020283 | s2cid = 231900820 | doi-access = free | title-link = doi }}</ref>