Objectives Environmental surfaces have been suggested as likely contributors in the transmission of COVID-19. This study assessed the infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) contaminating surfaces and objects in two hospital isolation units and a quarantine hotel. Methods SARS-CoV-2 virus stability and infectivity on non-porous surfaces was tested under controlled laboratory conditions. Surface and air sampling were conducted at two COVID-19 isolation units and in a quarantine hotel. Viral RNA was detected by RT-PCR and infectivity was assessed by VERO E6 CPE test. Results In laboratory-controlled conditions, SARS-CoV-2 gradually lost its infectivity completely by day 4 at ambient temperature, and the decay rate of viral viability on surfaces directly correlated with increase in temperature. Viral RNA was detected in 29/55 surface samples (52.7%) and 16/42 surface samples (38%) from the surroundings of symptomatic COVID-19 patients in isolation units of two hospitals and in a quarantine hotel for asymptomatic and very mild COVID-19 patients. None of the surface and air samples from the three sites (0/97) were found to contain infectious titres of SARS-Cov-2 on tissue culture assay. Conclusions Despite prolonged viability of SARS-CoV-2 under laboratory-controlled conditions, uncultivable viral contamination of inanimate surfaces might suggest low feasibility for indirect fomite transmission.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, Contamination, viability, surface, 【초록키워드】 feasibility, quarantine, hospital, SARS-CoV-2 virus, Transmission, RT-PCR, Laboratory, RNA, stability, Asymptomatic, Culture, symptomatic, Isolation, temperature, CPE, COVID-19 patient, acute respiratory syndrome, tissue, titre, mild COVID-19 patients, ambient, objective, Result, conducted, suggested, correlated, increase in, conditions, was tested, 【제목키워드】 quarantine, detection, Isolation, acute respiratory syndrome,