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> The scientists found that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable in aerosols for up to three hours, up to four hours on c
by koolba 7y ago
> The scientists found that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable in aerosols for up to three hours, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.
New rule is gonna be 48 hour quarantine for any packages.
- gautamnarula 7y agoI've started wrapping shared touch surfaces (doorknobs, handles, etc) in my apartment with copper tape. It's pretty cheap ($12 for 66ft on Amazon). You do need to be careful about gripping the surfaces though, because the sharp edges in the copper foil can cause small cuts which would actually make you more susceptible to viral infection.
- bamboozled 7y agoWhy not just spray it with some alcohol occasionally ? I think at some point we need to not make this an environmental disaster from over consumption of disposable items.
- voisin 7y agoI think he is kidding.
- bamboozled 7y agoWho would know anymore, the whole thing is getting rather silly, from hoarding food to toilet paper etc to wearing plastic bottles over your head. It's really starting to get a bit out of hand.
- DoreenMichele 7y agoThey may not be. Copper is antimicrobial and sometimes gets used in hospitals for things like railings because it helps prevent the spread of infection.
- prostheticvamp 7y agoAlready has been in my house. At least one study has shown survival on steel and plastic at about a week. Mist it with rubbing alcohol and stick it in a sunny corner for a few days.
- ardy42 7y ago> New rule is gonna be 48 hour quarantine for any packages. I just wipe them down with disinfecting wipes, then wash my hands after disposing the box.
- et-al 7y agoInteresting that the virus remains potent on plastic and stainless steel longer than cardboard. One would expect non-porous surfaces (e.g. steel) to be more "clean".
- smaddox 7y agoThey're certainly easier to clean. If you use an anti-viral cleanser on copper or SS, it would presumably be more effective than on cardboard.
- mstolpm 7y agoOne possible reason: Cardboard absorbs moist, which is neccesary for the virus to stay active. Non-porous surfaces don't. In addition, it was a lab experiment and from what I read, neither is it known how big the droplets were they tested with nor does anybody know how many virus particles are present in real droplets and how many might be transfered by smiring. Drying of droplets might happen faster or slower in practice, based on the environmental conditions. And before quarantining your next package for days, just remember: Washing your hands will get rid of the virus, it doesn't travel through the skin - you would have to rub it in eyes, nose or mouth.
- forkexec 7y agoThat's probably not long enough unless you live someplace hot and dry like Kuwait. Previous viability studies have found it stable up to 9 days. Furthermore, low temperatures and high humidity greatly increase viability for additional days. Also, fomite materials such as stainless steel extend the viability of it further. Given the lack of specific data, two week quarantine is the practice we're using at home. Unboxing things isn't as important as mitigating the threat of insufficiently-characterized, novel pathogens that our immune systems have basically no experience with.
- eyeball 7y agomy process = hose the box down with lysol, let it dry. move into the basement, let it sit for 5 days, then open
- hnarn 7y ago> up to 24 hours on cardboard What's concerning to me as a definite non-scientist is that cardboard is the only one of these materials that is porous and "rippable", would it be theoretically possible for the virus to go airborne if you rip up contaminated cardboard?