COVID-19: Can you get infected from touching surface? What new guidelines say

Last year when the COVID-19 pandemic broke, it was still mostly an unknown disease and no one knew how it is going to behave. The World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines issued in February 2020 highlighted the risk of COVID-19 spread through contaminated surfaces, called fomites.

Research published in March 2020 brought an intense focus on fomites and thus on deep cleaning, requiring the use of disinfectants. By this time touching any surface had become risky, be it a doorknob, a metro rail pole, or an escalator handlebar. 

The laboratory study showed that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, could stay alive for up to three days on plastic and steel surfaces. However, now there has been a paradigm shift in this regard. 

What new study suggests?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its COVID-19 guidelines which came as an about-turn saying that the chance of catching coronavirus infection from a contaminated surface is less than one in 10,000 instances and that the deep cleaning move was overkill.

The CDC has said in its updated guideline that we don't need chemical disinfectants to keep surface transmission low. Washing hands, wearing a face mask, and cleaning surfaces with regular soap and water are enough to keep us protected from catching COVID-19.

The CDC has said that the principal mode of COVID-19 spread is through droplets coming out of the mouth and nose of a coronavirus-infected person. If all persons wear face masks whenever they interact with others, the spread of COVID-19 can be drastically reduced.

Recently, the New York Times quoted a health expert as saying, "There's really no evidence that anyone has ever gotten COVID-19 by touching a contaminated surface."

This means we do not need to get obsessed with cleaning surfaces in homes or offices. Yes cleanliness itself is a good habit and saves you from many other diseases. 

This also means that the production, sale, and purchase of disinfectant liquids and wipes do not need to be overhyped. But always remember to wear a mask in a public place.