In a report by the research team at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), published in the journal Medical prestigious Lancet, added Evidence suggests the persistence of COVID-19 virus on surfaces of the face masks.
SARS-CoV-2 virus can persist on some surfaces
Specifically, SARS-CoV-2 virus can stick on stainless steel and plastic surfaces for up to 4 days, and on the outer layer of the mouth. pages to one week. This raises the question of what we should do to stop the spread of COVID-19.
To obtain the above results, the researchers have conducted to test the adherence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on surfaces under room temperature conditions.
On the outer layer of the medical face masks, the SARS-CoV-2 virus can last for up to a week
In addition to surfaces such as stainless steel, plastic, and face masks, the team also tested the virus’s adhesion on some surfaces. other people who are also constantly in contact with.
On paper towels and printed paper (such as newspapers, magazines), the SARS-CoV-2 virus persists for less than 3 hours. While the results were obtained on treated wood and fabric (cotton clothing) the virus disappeared only after day two.
As for glass and banknotes, the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be spread by the second day of being on the surface of these objects. But they also only last until the 4th day to disappear. While on the surfaces of stainless steel, plastic, the virus adhesion is from 4 – 7 days.
On the stainless-steel surface, the virus lasts for about 4 days
The team also emphasized that, more impressive than these results is the detection of a significant amount of virus on the outer surface of the medical face masks. Therefore, this is the reason why experts always recommend that you do not touch the outside of the face masks with your hands while wearing it and always clean your hands after discarding the face masks. Dirty hands are a favorable condition for the virus to enter the eyes and cause COVID-19.
An important recommendation from scientists not to touch the face masks while wearing
“Under favorable environment, the SARS-CoV-2 virus can maintain high stability but is also susceptible to bleaching measures. washing standards”, said the HKU report.
Specifically, the scientists discovered that SARS-CoV-2 could not withstand the common detergents commonly used in households, as well as bleach and the act of washing hands properly and regularly with soap under clean running water.
Cautions when using medical face masks
With medical face masks, the manufacturer recommends using only 1 time, you should use only 1 time, should not reuse many times to ensure safety for health, protect the respiratory system, the skin is better.
When using activated carbon medical face masks, if you reuse them again, you should not touch the surface of the face masks and be careful of the next use to avoid further dust on the face masks and harm to wear.
Medical face masks usually only avoid dust, harmful bacteria but cannot protect against the sun, can be used with cloth face masks, which can be reused many times, until the cloth is torn or old, you should discard it. .
One downside of fabric face masks cannot prevent bacteria, dirt is super small, so people need to use it in combination with medical face masks. For fabric face masks like this, people must wash them often, once every 1-2 days, need to be washed regularly with soap, sun-dry to kill bacteria, remove dirt.
