Covid virus ‘survives for 28 days’ on mobile phones and bank notes

The novel coronavirus can survive on surfaces of items like banknotes and phones for 28 days in dark and cool conditions, a study by Australia's national science agency claimed. 

The study by CSIRO's disease preparedness centre and published in the peer-reviewed journal Virology tested the longevity of Covid-19 in the dark at three temperatures. 

It found that at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, SARS-CoV-2 was "extremely robust" on smooth surfaces and staying alive for 28 days on glass, mobile phones, steel and plastic banknotes.

At a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius, the survival rate came down to seven days and further dropped to 24 hours at 40 degrees Celsius, suggesting the virus became less intense with a rise in temperature. 

The study noted that on cotton and other items with a porous surface, the virus survived for shorter periods -- up to 14 days at the lowest temperatures and under 16 hours at the highest.  

The results show that the virus could exist for "significantly longer" periods than what was revealed by previous research which found that SARS-CoV-2 could survive for up to four days on non-porous surfaces.

Trevor Drew, director of the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, said if an individual was "careless with these materials and touched them and then licked your hands or touched your eyes or your nose", he/ she "might well get infected upwards of two weeks after they had been contaminated", as quoted by news agency AFP.