The coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of stress and anxiety among people as it is a novel virus and we do not have all information about how the virus spreads. The experts had previously said that the coronavirus can sustain itself on surfaces for a certain period.
The latest finding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC suggests that the coronavirus does not spread simply by touching surfaces.
The experts have also warned to take necessary precautions and take a realistic approach to the spread of coronavirus.
In the safety guidelines published by the CDC in March, it said that it might be possible that coronavirus spreads from contaminated surfaces. People were taking precautions under these guidelines such as disinfecting all surfaces with bleach and chlorine.
Now, the CDC has changed the guidelines and said that surfaces and objects cannot transmit the virus easily.
Read more- Baby Sitter Who Seduced 13-years Old and got Pregnant Jailed for 30 Months
CDC has also updated the guidelines section in which it said that the transmission of coronavirus between animals and humans is not easily possible.
The federal agency said that since this a novel virus and we do not have all the information about the disease it causes, we need to learn a lot about how the coronavirus spreads. This virus can’t spread easily through contaminated surfaces but it can have other means of exposure.
CDC also warned the public that coronavirus still transmits easily between an infected individual and a healthy person which needs to be taken care of by maintaining social distancing and other precautionary measures.
The initial studies done at the beginning of the outbreak suggested that the virus can stay in the air for a certain period due to which it can also exist on other surfaces for about three days.
The chief medical officer for WebMD, Dr. John Whyte said the update on the coronavirus spread by the CDC has significant importance as it gives us new information and clarifies how the coronavirus is transmitted.
The CDC has stated it on their website multiple times that an important practice to avoid contracting the virus is at least 6 feet apart distance, hand washing with soap and disinfecting surfaces regularly which come in contact with people various times.
In April, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement that people do not need to disinfect their food and grocery items as it is very much less likely to be exposed to the coronavirus through such a surface.
Also read- Low Levels of Physical Activity during COVID-19 lockdown Increases the risk of chronic diseases
The FDA also said that the consumers of these products should be assured that the virus does not live on the surface of human food or animal food since there is no such evidence recorded of transmission of the virus through food or the packaging of food to humans.
This latest study will help lessen the anxiety among the public since people were skeptical of touching surfaces of objects during shopping at grocery stores.
As the virus cannot spread by mere contact with a surface, there is no need to disinfect the surface of every object repeatedly using sanitization products.