The year 2020 will be remembered in history as the year when people stayed indoors for the better half of the year to battle a global pandemic, the Coronavirus. If you want to be on the right side of history and are reading this, there is still time left to step up your sanitizing game to protect yourself and your loved ones. While most of us have made wearing face masks and washing hands part of our routines, we often forget to sanitize the gadgets we’re using, primarily smartphones, and a new study shows we should seriously consider sanitizing our devices.
According to the study by Australian researchers published in the Virology Journal, SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the spread of coronavirus, stays alive for up to 28 days on common surfaces like glass, stainless steel, and even banknotes at 20°C and 50% relative humidity.
“The persistence of SARS-COV-2 on glass and vinyl (both common screen and screen protector materials, suggest that touchscreen devices may provide a potential source of transmission, and should regularly be disinfected especially in multi-user environments,” states the report.
To come to this conclusion, the researchers conducted various experiments at 20°C, 30°C and 40°C in dark to avoid UV light. While the virus stays alive for 28 days at 20°C, it survives for 7 days and up to 2 days at 30°C and 40°C respectively. You can learn more about the process in the journal right here.
Hence, if you’re in a humid area where the temperature lurks around 20°C, there is no reason why you shouldn’t sanitize your devices. Even if you’re in a relatively hot region, extra safety measures will never go in vain. If you’re looking for ways to sanitize your phone, our guide on the same will come in handy.
