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. 2021 Jan 15:208:111438.
doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111438. Epub 2020 Sep 30.

The distribution of SARS-CoV-2 contamination on the environmental surfaces during incubation period of COVID-19 patients

Xiaowen Hu  1 , Wei Ni  2 , Zhaoguo Wang  1 , Guangren Ma  3 , Bei Pan  1 , Liyan Dong  1 , Ruqin Gao  4 , Fachun Jiang  5
Affiliations

The distribution of SARS-CoV-2 contamination on the environmental surfaces during incubation period of COVID-19 patients

Xiaowen Hu et al. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. .

Abstract

Roles of environmental factors in transmission of COVID-19 have been highlighted. In this study, we sampled the high-touch environmental surfaces in the quarantine room, aiming to detect the distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on the environmental surfaces during the incubation period of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Fifteen sites were sampled from the quarantine room, distributing in the functional areas such as bedroom, bathroom and living room. All environmental surface samples were collected with sterile polyester-tipped applicator pre-moistened in viral transport medium and tested for SARS-CoV-2. Overall, 34.1% of samples were detected positively for SARS-CoV-2. The positive rates of Patient A, B and C, were 46.2%, 0% and 61.5%, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 was detected positively in bedroom and bathroom, with the positive rate of 50.0% and 46.7%, respectively. In contrast, living room had no positive sample detected. Environmental contamination of SARS-CoV-2 distributes widely during the incubation period of COVID-19, and the positive rates of SARS-CoV-2 on environmental surfaces are relatively high in bathroom and bedroom.

Keywords: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Environmental contamination; Incubation period; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of environmental sampling sites in the quarantine room.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The timeline from getting off the flight to leaving quarantine room for each patient .
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Distribution of Ct values of all samples in all cases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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