Environmental Contamination of SARS-CoV-2 in a Non-Healthcare Setting

Abstract

Fomite-mediated transmission has been identified as a possible route for the spread of COVID-19 disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. In healthcare settings, environmental contamination by SARS-CoV-2 has been found in patients’ rooms and toilets. Here, we investigated environmental presence of SARS-CoV-2 in non-healthcare settings and assessed the efficacy of cleaning and disinfection in removing virus contamination. A total of 428 environmental swabs and six air samples was taken from accommodation rooms, toilets and elevators that have been used by COVID-19 cases. By using a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay, we detected two SARS-CoV-2 RNA positive samples in a room where a COVID-19 patient stayed prior to diagnosis. The present study highlights the risk of fomite-mediated transmission in non-healthcare settings and the importance of surface disinfection in spaces occupied by cases. Of note, neither air-borne transmission nor surface contamination of elevators, which were transiently exposed to infected individuals, was evident among samples analyzed.

SARS-CoV-2 Detection Rates from Surface Samples Do Not Implicate Public Surfaces as Relevant Sources for Transmission

“…It was during an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak investigation on a ferry boat [40], during a COVID-19 outbreak on a cruise ship [49], during a COVID-19 outbreak in a nursing home [40], and during a local COVID-19 outbreak [50]. No specific information regarding the local or national epidemiological situation during the study period was found in four of the studies [51][52][53][54].…”

“…In three studies, samples were taken before any cleaning or disinfection procedure was carried out [40,49,54]. In one study, 50% of the 428 samples were taken before the cleaning and disinfection, and the other half was taken after the disinfection procedure [51]. No specific information regarding any prior treatment of surfaces was found in three studies [50,52,53].…”

“…No specific information regarding any prior treatment of surfaces was found in three studies [50,52,53]. The public availability of hand sanitizers was not described in any of the studies [40,[49][50][51][52][53][54].…”

Environmental surface contamination with SARS-CoV-2 in professional football clubs

“…However, this has potential practical implications: Environmental swab testing has been addressed as a means to track potential outbreaks, i.e., if a high proportion of positive environmental samples are found, it is likely that there is a number of infected subjects roaming the area (Wong et al 2020). It has been speculated that such monitoring could replace direct swabbing of subjects for screening purposes to a certain extent.…”

COVID-19 transmission: a rapid systematic review of current knowledge

“…This clearly demonstrates the need for careful attention in the possible reuse of this equipment to avoid secondary transmission to medical staff. These studies present data from hospital wards and intensive care units (with high loads of virus) and probably do not reflect the transmission dynamics in other settings, and they do not provide any data about possible transmission from surfaces; nevertheless, they demonstrate the relatively high circulation of the virus in our surroundings and therefore the need for surface disinfecting policies [79]. According to a recent systematic review, in household settings, contamination of patients' surroundings was as high as 14%, with patients' utensils, electronic high-touch surfaces, beds, and floors representing the most frequently contaminated surfaces [80].…”