Smith College

A study found that SARS-CoV-2 can be highly sensitive to heat. The virus was still detectable after being left out for 14 days in a 4°C room, while the virus inactive 5 minutes after being left in a 70°C. The study also found a difference in stability on different surfaces, such as paper, plastic, and metal.  At room temperature, the virus is highly stable in a range of pH3 - pH10. However, the standard disinfectant method was still able to affect the virus, with the researchers finding no active infection in different disinfectants after an incubation of 5 minutes (except for hand soap).

Stability of SARS-CoV-2 in different environmental conditions

Chin, A., Chu, J., Perera, M., Hui, K., Yen, H., Chan, M., Peiris, M. and Poon, L., 2020. Stability of SARS-CoV-2 in different environmental conditions. The Lancet Microbe, 1(1), p.10. doi:10.1016/S2666-5247(20)30003-3 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(20)30003-3/fulltext

At room temperature (22°C) with a relative humidity of around 65%, the rank of stability of a 5 μL droplet of virus culture (from most stable to least):
- outer layer of a surgical mask (virus still detectable on day 7)
- stainless steel and plastic (virus not detectable on day 7)
- glass and banknote (not detectable on day 4)
- Treated wood and cloth  (not detectable on day 2)
- printing and tissue papers  (not detectable after 3 hours)

**a biphasic decay of infectious SARS-CoV-2 was found in samples recovered from these smooth surfaces

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