CORONAVIRUS LIVING ENVIRONMENT

               We can pick up virus by touching surfaces contaminated with the new Coronavirus, but it is only just becoming clear how long the virus can survive outside the human body. As Coronavirus has spread, so has our fear of surfaces, these are now some familiar scenes in public places around the world people trying to open doors with their elbows, commuters studiously surfing their way through train journeys to avoid grabbing a handle, office workers rubbing down their desks each morning. In the areas worst hit by the new Coronavirus, teams of Workers in protective clothing have been dispatched to spray a fog of disinfectant in plazas, parks and public streets. Cleaning regimes in offices, hospitals, shops and restaurants have been increased, in some cities well meaning volunteers even venture out at night to scrub the keypads of cash machines.
Like many respiratory viruses, including flu, COVID-19 can be spread in tiny droplets released from the nose and mouth of an infected person as they cough, a single cough can produce up to 3,000 droplets. These particles can land on other people, clothing and surfaces around them but some of the smaller particles can remain in the air.
There is some evidence that Coronavirus is also shed for longer in fecal matter, so anyone not washing their hands thoroughly after visiting the toilet could contaminate anything they touch. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC, It is worth nothing that touching a surface or object with the virus and then touching one's own face is not though to be the main way COVID-19 spreads, even so, the CDC, the World Health Organization and other health authorities, have emphasized that both washing one's hands, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces daily are key in preventing Coronavirus spread. so although we still don't know exactly how many cases are being caused directly by contaminated surfaces, experts advise exercising caution.
One aspect that has been unclear is exactly how long COVID-19 can survive outside the human body, some studies on other Coronavirus, including Sars and Mers, found they can survive on metal, glass and plastic for as long as 9 days, unless they are properly disinfected, some can even hang around for up 28 days in low temperatures. Coronavirus well known to be particularly resilient in terms of where they can survive, researchers are now beginning to understand more about how this affects the spread of new Coronavirus.
Neelteje Van Doremalen, a virologist at the US National Institutes of Health NIH and her colleagues at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, have done some of the first tests of how long Covid-19 can last for on different surfaces. Their study, which has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that Coronavirus could survive in droplets for up to 3 hours after being coughed out into the air, fine droplets between 1 to 5 micrometers in size (about 30 times smaller than the width of human hair) can remain airborne for several hours in still air. It means that the Covid-19 circulating in unfiltered air conditioning systems will only persist for a couple of hours at the most, especially as aerosol droplets tend to settle on surfaces faster in disturbed air, but the NIH study found that Covid-19 survives for longer on cardboard, up to 24 hours, up to 2 or 3 days on plastic and stainless steel surfaces.
The findings suggest Coronavirus might last this long on door handles, plastic coated or laminated worktops and other hard surfaces, the researchers did find, however, that copper surfaces tended to kill the virus in about 4 hours, but there is a speedier option, research has shown that Coronavirus can be inactivated within a minute by disinfecting surfaces with 62 to 71% alcohol or 0.5% hydrogen peroxide bleach or household bleach containing 0.1% sodium hypochlorite. Higher temperatures and humidity also tend to result in other Coronavirus dying quicker, although research has shown that a related Coronavirus that causes Sars could be killed by temperatures above 56°C or 132°F at a rate of about 10,000 viral particles every 15 minutes.
The US Environmental Protection Agency EPA has now published a list of disinfectants and active ingredients that can be used against the Covid-19. Although there is no data on how many virus particles will be in a single droplet coughed up by an infected person, research on the flu virus suggests smaller droplets can contain many tens of thousands of copies of the influenza virus, however, this can vary depending on the virus itself, where in the respiratory tract it is found and at what stage in the infection the patient is.
On clothing and other surfaces harder to disinfect, it's not yet clear how long Coronavirus can survive, the absorbent natural fibres in cardboard, however, may cause the Covid-19 to dry up more quickly than on plastic and metal, suggests Vincent Munster, head of the virus ecology section at Rocky Mountain Laboratories and one of those who led the NIH study. "We speculate due to the porous material, it desiccates rapidly and might be stuck to fibers" he says, changes in temperature and humidity may also affect how long it can survive and also so may explain why it was less stable in suspended droplets in the air, as they are more exposed, currently running follow up experiments to investigate the effect of temperature and humidity in more detail. The ability of Coronavirus to linger for so long only underlines the importance of hand hygiene and cleaning of surfaces, according to Munster, there is a potential for this virus to be transmitted via variety of routes.
Hand washing is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family from getting sick, wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, going to the bathroom and before eating or preparing food. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol based hand sanitize with at least 60% alcohol. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces such as tables, doorknobs, light switches, counter tops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets and sinks. If surfaces are dirty, clean them using detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection, to disinfect most common EPA registered household disinfectants will work. Coronavirus Detailed Disinfection Guidance
 CDC recommendations actions are part of everyday preventive actions individuals can take to slow the spread of respiratory diseases like Covid-19. When washing hands, you can use plain soap that is as effective as antibacterial soap at removing germs. CDC doesn't encourage the production and use of homemade hand sanitizes products because of concerns over the correct use of the ingredients and the need to work under sterile conditions to make the product, local industries that are looking into producing hand sanitizes to fill in for commercial shortages can refer to the World Health Organization guidance. Organizations should revert to the use of commercially produced, FDA approved product once such supplies again become available. to be effective against killing some types of germs, hand sanitizes need to have a strength of at least 60% alcohol and be used when hands are not visibly dirty or greasy, do not rely on Do It Yourself or DIY recipes based solely on essential oils or formulated without correct compounding practices, do not use hand sanitizes to disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects.