SARS-CoV-2 circulates in the atmosphere in the form of very small liquid particles expelled at the level of the mouth and nose when a person breathes, speaks, sneezes, sings.
This is one of the main routes of contamination which is made possible when people are relatively close, “one meter apart on average”, describes the World Health Organization (WHO).
Viral transmission by objects… but indirect
But since the start of the pandemic, you have applied hydroalcoholic gel every time you enter and leave a public place. Handshakes disappear from greeting rituals.
However, is the Covid-19 virus transmitted by touch? By the objects around us?
“The main route of transmission remains exposure to respiratory emissions from an infected person”, recall the authors of a very precise note on the subject published on the Quebec site of the National Collaborative Center for Environmental Health (CCNSE).
If there is a risk of transmission of Covid-19 via objects, the latter remains indirect: we can “be infected when we touch surfaces contaminated by the virus, then when we bring our hands to our eyes, nose or mouth before washing them.
Better virus survival on solid and smooth surfaces
But what do the studies already published say about the survival of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces and objects? “Experimental studies have shown that the virus persists longer on hard and smooth surfaces, such as stainless steel, plastic, glass and ceramics, than on porous surfaces such as paper and fabrics”, relays the CCNSE .
In research projects carried out in hospitals and public places, traces of viral RNA have been found on the surface of many objects: “door handles, garbage cans, bed sides, grocery carts, crosswalk buttons, faucets and toilet seats. »
Finally, work focused on viral contraction via “banknotes, coins, PVC and stainless steel revealed a risk of transmission of the virus (…) by these surfaces probably low”.
Work in progress
“This type of transmission [par les surfaces et objets] does not appear to play a major role in the spread of the virus. This is the data that prevails today in the world of research”, emphasizes Manouk Abkarian, CNRS research physicist at the Center for Structural Biochemistry at the Montpellier Institute.
“Many studies are underway, especially on the side of physicists to observe this relationship of SARS-CoV-2 with matter. At this stage it is much too early to comment on the possibility that one would have to contract the Covid-19 simply by touching an object “, by lending a pen or a bottle of water for example.
“Other research is underway to better understand the spread of the virus and to determine the most risky environments and the reasons why they are”, supports the WHO on this subject.