While COVID-19 is believed to be spread mainly by inhaling droplets released when an infected person coughs or sneezes, these droplets can also land on surfaces. A healthy person can then unknowingly touch those surfaces and the next thing you know the virus has gotten a free ride to wherever and whatever the person touches next.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services.Policy

Often times, peoples hands can transport the viral particles to different surfaces, even the face, where it can enter your body through your eyes, mouth or nose. (Hence why health officials are screaming at us not to touch our faces and to wash our hands.)

Still, viral particles are making their rounds. (Those mangy freeloaders!) We asked infectious disease specialist Frank Esper, MD, to weigh in on how long the coronavirus can survive on surfaces and what we should know to keep ourselves safe.

Thevirus typically doesnt like to live on surfaces that have a lot of holes ormicroscopic little grooves, nooks or crannies, explains Dr. Esper. It likes surfacesthat are very smooth, like door knobs.

Early research has demonstrated that the viruss survival depends on the type of surface it lands on. The live virus can survive anywhere between three hours and seven days, depending on the material.

Heres how long the virus typically lasts on common surfaces:

Its important to note that the amount of live virus decreases over time on surfaces. So the risk of infection from touching something that had the virus on it for a few days would lessen.

As you can imagine cardboard has little microscopic holes in it, so the virus doesnt like it very much, says Dr. Esper. And it doesnt last too long on fabric either, typically less than a day.

Viruses cant survive independently. The whole point of a virus is to invade a living host, hijack it and produce more virus babies.So when an infected person coughs and viral droplets land on surfaces around them, its not exactly the outcome that the virus had hoped for.

If a virus lands on something like a chair or table, it starts dying pretty quick, explains Dr. Esper. We may be able to find some viable virus after a few days, but its thousands of times less than what was originally deposited by the cough. As soon as the virus hits something thats not alive and certainly not a human, its not going to do very well.

So just because the virus is detectable on a surface doesnt necessarily mean that theres enough there to make someone sick. Scientists are still working to figure out what the infectious dose requirement is to actually cause an infection.

With online shopping and deliveries now reaching holiday-level busyness, you might be wondering if your mail or packages are carrying the coronavirus. Some people even let their mail or parcels sit for a few days before opening.

Paper and cardboard are very porous, says Dr. Esper. The virus doesnt like surfaces like that. It likes smooth, even things.

Coronavirus also doesnt particularly like to be out in the elements. Certainly, many viruses seem to circulate better in cold weather rather than warm weather, but if the virus is not in another person, its not going to do well.

Im not particularly concerned about catching the virus through the mail, says Dr. Esper. Were certainly studying it and well be able to understand a lot more as time goes on, but the answer is no, I dont think people need to be concerned about getting the virus through the mail.

Read this article:
How Long Will Coronavirus Survive on Surfaces? - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic