Coronavirus can live in the air for hours and on surfaces for days, study finds

Infectious coronavirus droplets can remain in the air for hours and survive on some surfaces for three days, per a new study. 

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday found the virus was detected as many as three hours later in the air, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously stated that the virus was more likely to spread between individuals in close contact via respiratory droplets, similar to the cold or flu, per USA Today. The CDC also claims a low risk of transmission on packaging. 

Experts did note that this study doesn’t mean coronavirus can easily remain on delivery boxes or takeout food.

“The paper that recently published, these are under ideal sort of experimental situations,” Joseph Vinetz, a professor of medicine at Yale University and infectious disease researcher who was not affiliated with the study, told USA Today. “If somebody were to, say, cough … on a box or on a letter, the chances of that remaining viable for the period of time it’s in transit seems extremely unlikely.”