What do we know about how the new coronavirus is spread?
We know that the primary way that the virus is transmitted is through droplets created by coughing and sneezing, but we don’t know as much about other possible ways the virus spreads. We do know that family transmission likely plays an important role in how the virus spreads in a region.
One question is how long the virus can last in the environment, whether it’s on a doorknob, a cardboard box, or in food. This New England Journal article has gotten a lot of attention because it shows that the virus can persist in different circumstances for hours to days, including in aerosol form, for 3 hours.
It’s important to note that this study does not indicate whether the virus is actually able to cause an infection in a person in any particular situation, although it does suggest that infection could be theoretically possible in different circumstances. I would suspect that this mostly applies in enclosed settings or settings where lots of people are touching the same surfaces and that this is not the PRIMARY way most people are infected. This article describes a cluster of cases in a mall China where there was no direct contact between some of the cases and the most plausible way of spreading was through the elevator or restrooms. For me this means frequently touched surfaces or places touched by many people need to be cleaned frequently until we know more.
There have not been reported cases that I have seen of transmission through stool, but it also seems like a real possibility based on virus reported in stool samples of cases:
So takeaways are: heat up any food prepared outside your home, wash your hands after handling items from outside your home and after being out, disinfect “high touch surfaces” that multiple people are in contact with, and when practicing strict social distancing within your household it’s important to have everyone in the household participate.
