China’s government is urging the population to refrain from ordering goods from abroad. Parcels and envelopes should be opened outdoors and with masks and gloves on whenever possible. Infectiologist Jan Fehr explains why contact infections (smear infections) with the corona virus via surfaces are unlikely.
SRF News: Is it really necessary to only open packages as recommended by the Chinese government?
Jan Fehr: We still know little about the transmission paths from Omikron. In the previous variants of Sars-CoV-2, the main transmission routes are droplet infection and aerosols. Although transmission via surfaces cannot be ruled out, according to the current state of knowledge it is certainly not a main transmission route.
It is rather unlikely that corona viruses can spread via a package from abroad that stays somewhere for several days or weeks.
It is important that we at Omikron focus on the things that we can deduce from the basic properties of SARS-CoV-2 and are accordingly in the foreground. So it can be assumed that droplet infection and aerosols are also the main transmission routes for omicrons.
Legend:
The background to the Chinese authorities’ recommendation is that the first case of the omicron variant in China could be related to a package that came to China from Canada via the USA and Hong Kong. This was reported by the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV earlier this week.
key stone
It is rather unlikely that corona viruses can spread via a package from abroad that stays somewhere for several days or weeks. I therefore do not assume that this recommendation from the Chinese government will slow down the current corona wave in the country. But of course this has to be checked further on the basis of scientific principles, which currently do not yet exist on such a broad scale.
How long does omicron survive on surfaces?
I haven’t read any literature on this yet. However, if you compare Omikron with the previous variants, it is very different. Viruses can survive from a few hours to days depending on the temperature, humidity and surface conditions.
So can you get infected in the vegetable department, for example?
This is very unlikely, since the known transmission routes are via droplets and aerosols. It cannot be ruled out if a person touches their face and then touches the groceries in the shop. But with the applicable mask requirement, such a transmission is hardly possible.
What is the percentage of transmissions via droplet infection, aerosol and contact infection?
Because this depends on many factors such as temperature, humidity, surface area and the amount of virus, transmission cannot be given as a percentage.
However, one can say that the main transmission routes take place via droplets or aerosols. All other transmissions are of little to little relevance.
Saya Bausch conducted the interview.