TOKYO: Researchers from Japan have found that the novel coronavirus remains active on human skin for nine hours. The study, published in Clinical Infectious Disease journal, showed that flu causing pathogen survives 1.8 hours in comparison to novel coronavirus. These findings have further reinforced the need to wash hands frequently in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study said that the nine-hour survival of SARS-CoV-2 on human skin may increase the possibility of contact transmission and can accelerate the pandemic. The study team has collected the skin from autopsy specimens about one day after their death. It was found that the novel coronavirus and the flu are inactivated within 15 minutes of applying ethanol (used in hand sanitizers).
These findings back the guidelines of World Health Organisation (WHO) for regular and thorough washing of hands to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 has affected around 40 million people across the world since it first emerged in China last year.