The risk of getting COVID-19 infection from contaminated surfaces is extremely low, according to the updated guide released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“People may be infected by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects (fomites), but the risk is generally considered low,” the agency said.
The main mode of infection for people with the SARS-CoV-2 virus is exposure to respiratory drops, according to the CDC. While not impossible, the agency said the risk of fomite infection is “generally less than 1 in 10,000.”
The CDC guidelines, which reach more than a year into the pandemic, are the strongest argument against what some critics have dubbed the “hygiene theater.”
Despite the fact that CDC scientists have been fairly confident since, at least last spring, that transmission is done almost entirely through airborne particles, establishments have continued to insist on strict sanitation protocols, such as constantly cleaning shared surfaces with disinfectant and close schools and subway. for “deep cleaning”.
According to the CDC, cleaning surfaces with soap or detergent and not disinfecting is enough to reduce the risk in most situations.
“There is little scientific support for the routine use of disinfectants in community settings, whether indoor or outdoor, to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from fomites,” the agency said. “In public spaces and community settings, available epidemiological data … indicate that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from fomites is low, compared to the risks of direct contact, droplet transmission, or airborne transmission.”
Disinfection is recommended in indoor community settings where a case of COVID-19 has been suspected or confirmed in the past 24 hours, the CDC said.
Director of CDC Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky: The Hill’s Morning Report: Biden’s infrastructure plan sparks debate over the definition. Fauci announces the vaccines: “This will not last forever.” He told reporters that other strategies used, such as fog, fumigation and electrostatic spraying, are not recommended at all as primary methods of disinfection due to safety risks.
Surface transmission can be reduced by wearing masks consistently and correctly, as well as proper hand washing, the agency said.