SARS-CoV-2, the virus, mainly spreads from person to person. People release respiratory fluids during exhalation (e.g., quiet breathing, speaking, singing, exercise, coughing, sneezing) in the form of droplets across a spectrum of sizes.These droplets carry virus and transmit infection. The largest droplets settle out of the air rapidly, within seconds to minutes. The smallest very fine droplets, and aerosol particles formed when these fine droplets rapidly dry, are small enough that they can remain suspended in the air for minutes to hours.
While less likely, you can also get the virus from touching a surface or object the virus is on, then touching your mouth, nose, or possibly your eyes. Most viruses can live for several hours on a surface that they land on. A study shows that SARS-CoV-2 can last for several hours on various types of surfaces:
- Copper (pennies, teakettles, cookware): 4 hours
- Cardboard (shipping boxes): up to 24 hours
- Plastic (milk containers, detergent bottles, subway and bus seats, elevator buttons):2 to 3 days
- Stainless steel (refrigerators, pots and pans, sinks, some water bottles): 2 to 3 days
What is community spread?
Doctors and health officials use this term when they don’t know the source of the infection. With COVID-19, it usually refers to someone who gets the virus even though they haven’t been out of the country or haven’t been exposed to someone who’s traveled abroad or who has COVID-19.
In February 2020, the CDC confirmed a COVID-19 infection in California in a person who had not traveled to an affected area or been exposed to someone with the disease. This marked the first instance of community spread in the U.S. It’s likely that person was exposed to someone who was infected but didn’t know it. This type of occurrence has been happening with the variants as well.
The number of people infected by SARS-CoV-2 changes every day.
The transmission rate is relatively high. Early research has estimated that one person who has it can spread it to between 2 and 3.5 others. One study found that the rate was higher, with one case spreading to between 4.7 and 6.6 other people. By comparison, one person who has the seasonal flu will pass it to between 1.1 and 2.3 others.
The Omicron variant, which is now the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States, is highly contagious and will likely spread faster than the original virus. Scientists are still looking into how easily Omicron spreads compared to the previous dominant variant, Delta. The CDC expects that someone who’s infected with Omicron can spread it to other people, even if the infected person is vaccinated or doesn’t have symptoms.
We can work to lower the transmission rate by wearing cloth face masks when we can’t stay 6 feet away from others, washing hands often, keeping common surfaces clean, limiting contact with other people, and getting vaccinated.
Can coronavirus be transmitted through groceries, packages, or food?
You’re much more likely to get COVID-19 from another person than from packages, groceries, or food. If you’re in a high-risk group, stay home and use a delivery service or have a friend shop for you. Have them leave the items outside your front door, if you can. If you do your own shopping, wear a cloth face mask and try to stay at least 6 feet away from other shoppers.
There’s no evidence that anyone has gotten COVID-19 from food or food containers.
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