Some interesting stuff starting to come out about COVID-19 spread.
"So far, no transmission of the virus in supermarkets, restaurants or hairdressers has been proven," explained Bonn virologist Hendrik Streeck on the
ZDF Markus Lanz talk show.
Instead, the major outbreaks have been the result of close get-togethers over a longer period of time, he said.
That's demonstrated in, for example, outbreaks that have stemmed from après-ski parties in Ischgl, at football matches in Bergamo or at carnival celebrations in the municipality of Gangelt in the Heinsberg district of North Rhine-Westphalia."
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No evidence of live viruses on surfaces
Initial surveys and investigations in homes in Heinsberg have already provided some indications of how the virus works.
Streeck, who is director of the Institute of Virology at Bonn University, said he was able to detect coronavirus by swabbing remote controls, washbasins, mobile phones, toilets or door handles.
However, it has not been possible to cultivate the virus in the laboratory on the basis of these swabs. "This means that we have detected the RNA (or ribonucleic acid, which carries the virus’s genetic information) of 'dead' viruses," Streeck said.
According to his previous research results, he believes "that a door handle can only be infectious if someone has actually coughed in their hand and then reached for it.
"After that, you have to reach for the door handle yourself and touch your face," he said. It is not yet possible to say how long the virus can remain on a door handle because not enough studies have been carried out.
Streeck added: "We were in a household where many highly infectious people lived, and yet we did not manage to detect a living virus from any surface."
He said these early research results would now be further developed in the
current study in Heinsberg.
Virologist Christian Drosten of Berlin's Charité hospital had also previously pointed out in an
NDR podcast that
coronaviruses are extremely sensitive to drying out. They are also transmitted by droplet infection and must be inhaled.
Therefore, according to the virologist, there is little chance of transmission by contact with notes or coins, for example."
Source:
https://www.thelocal.de/20200402/ho...ers-on-coronavirus-in-countrys-worst-hit-spot
Compare that to this study on virus spread from 2014.
https://www.livescience.com/47730-virus-spread-offices.html