Fomites Unlikely Sources of SARS-CoV-2 Virus

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have updated the SARS-CoV-2 infection control advice to reflect the current state of virus transmission evidence, as of February 10, 2021. The focus on 'fomites' emerged at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 because of what researchers assumed about infectious diseases.

The CDC stated during 2020 that while it’s possible respiratory droplets infected with the new coronavirus could land on surfaces and that someone could become infected by touching them, “this is not thought to be a common way that COVID-19 spreads."

Also, “despite consistent evidence as to SARS-CoV-2 contamination of surfaces and the survival of the virus on certain surfaces, there are no specific reports which have directly demonstrated fomite transmission,” said the WHO.

“Fomite transmission is possible, but it just seems to be rare,” says environmental engineer Amy Pickering, who is now at the University of California, Berkeley. “A lot of things have to fall into place for that transmission to happen," reported the journal Nature on January 29, 2021.