Smartphones have always been the breeding ground for germs because of our over possessiveness about our smartphones. We even take our smartphones to the loo. With the spread of COVID-19, we are now concerned and worried about things that we ignored in the past. One of them is the smartphone hygiene. Before the outburst of coronavirus 19, we never really cared about the germs being accumulated on the smartphone for keeping it here and there. Neither did we care to clean and disinfect the gadgets. But now, things have changes completely and we are becoming maniac when it comes to washing and cleaning.
Coronavirus COVID-19, a notorious member of the family of coronavirus first broke out in the city of Wuhan in China in December 2019. Since then the disease have started engulfing the whole human kind gradually. One of the main enemies of coronavirus is soap and alcohol. That’s why WHO and CDC have advised us to wash our hands with soap and hand sanitizer repeatedly. Now the main question is how long the virus stays on smartphones?
How long Can COVID-19 Survive On smartphones?
Even though there is no concrete answers for smartphones, but if we consider the survey data of WHO and CDC, we can say it is approximately 96 hours, that is around 4 days. According to CDC, there is a huge possibility that virus resting on high touch surfaces, such as, railings, door locks, smartphones, etc. can easily be transmitted to human body, if the person touches a virus infected surface, and then puts the hand in his mouth, nose or even eyes. Thus, CDC recommends people to disinfect their surrounding and surfaces regularly.
As per the data of World Health Organization, the corona virus of 2003, i.e., SARS-CoV could survive on glass surface up to 4 days, on stainless steel up to 72 hours and on plastic for 72 hours as well. As for COVID-19, the result will be somewhat same as the virus belongs to the same family. Research is going on about the sustainability of the coronavirus on various surfaces. A recent study done by the National Institute of Health revealed that the 2019 novel coronavirus can live on plastic and stainless steel for up to 3 days, that is 72 hours. Reports on glass are not yet available but we can presume it would be somewhat same as that of 2003 Coronavirus. Smartphone surfaces are either glass, metal or plastic. So, the approximste estimated time is 4 days.
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So now you can understand if you keep your smartphone with you all day long without disinfecting it, your life is at stake.
How to Sanitize smartphones?
If you keep your smartphone quarantined for 4 to 5 days, then the virus will theoretically die but it is not possible to not touch the phone for so many days, especially when you are locked in your room for a month. So, always make it a point to sanitize your smartphone every time you come home from outside. If you are inside your home, then also try to sanitize your smartphone atleast once. Here is how you can do it:
1. Alcohol swabs: these are the best cleaning solution for smartphones. These are the same things we use for cleaning our phone’s screen before putting a new screen guard. You can get them in any pharmacy shop.
2. Alcohol handrub: If you do not have alcohol swabs, take a clean cloth, apply some hand rub or sanitizer on it and clean your phone.
3. Soap and water not recommend: Smartphones are not at all soap friendly. So do not clean with soap. There is one handset Kyocera rafre. This phone can withstand soap.
Always power off your smartphone before cleaning.
