While everyone's distracted about trump stupidity, haven't seen many talk about the real issue

[jmg257]

that was being discussed, which is how long the half-life of these viruses are.

How Long Does Coronavirus Last on Surfaces?
The coronavirus responsible for the disease COVID-19 can remain intact on surfaces for anywhere up to 72 hours, according to a study conducted by US researchers.

The precise figure depends heavily on the type of surface infected droplets land on, and might also rely on the density of virus particles in the spray, and other environmental conditions - such as temperature and sunlight.
But with so many particles found to still be infectious after being in the air for a number of hours, the evidence shows why we need to be so concerned with simple hygiene.

Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Centers for Disease Control, Princeton University, and University of California, Los Angeles, experimented with the SARS-CoV-2 virus under laboratory conditions to determine how fast virus particles broke down outside of a host body.
Previous research examining the literature on animal and human strains of coronavirus provided insight into the virus's ability to keep its integrity as it moves through the environment. But until now, experimental evidence on new SARS-CoV-2 has been limited.

The virus behind the 2003 SARS epidemic, SARS-CoV-1, was also tested for comparison, with strains of both pathogens sprayed as micrometre-sized droplets onto various surfaces including cardboard, copper, and plastic.

Just hanging about in the atmosphere, the effect of factors such as UV light and heat causes the mix of RNA, fatty membrane, and protein making up the particles to steadily break down in a few hours.

Dropped onto plastic, the two virus strains appear to be able to stay intact far longer. Only half of the SARS-CoV-2 particles broke apart in just under seven hours, for example, with viable coronavirus particles still detected up to three days later.

Stainless steel was almost as bad, with a half-life for SARS-CoV-2 of 5.6 hours.

Copper, on the other hand, failed to provide similar protection for either strain, with the number of viable particles capable of causing disease vanishing within just four hours for SARS-CoV-2, and eight hours for SARS-CoV-1.

Similarly, on cardboard, no viable SARS-CoV-2 particles could be found after 24 hours, or SARS-CoV-1 after eight.

https://www.sciencealert.com/how-long-does-coronavirus-last-on-surfaces

All a LOT longer than I have been figuring. UGH!

[MerryBlooms]

1. r&k Thanks.