How Long Does COVID-19 Last on Surfaces and How Does It Spread?

Medical professionals are learning more and more every day about the new COVID-19 coronavirus and its capabilities. More than a week into a state of emergency in North Carolina, many people know a few details about COVID-19, but some may still be uncertain about how it spreads or how to protect your health.

Dr. Charlie Monteiro, who is currently on the board of the Durham-Orange County Medical Society, spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck to provide recent updates about the new virus. He confirmed COVID-19 is not a particularly fatal coronavirus in a broad sense.

“I think the good news is about 80 percent of people who get infected with this do just fine,” said Monteiro. “They have mild symptoms, they might be sick for a week and then they go about their lives. The good news is this isn’t super fatal like the original SARS virus, where it was a very high mortality rate.”

But Monteiro, who is the former president North Carolina Medical Society, said that should not mean people should not be concerned. COVID-19 carries a much higher mortality rate for older generations.

“Above age 80,” he said, “this is a very, very dangerous virus. When you calculate the number of deaths per infections that have been confirmed, the fatality rate is 22 percent for people over 80.”

The real danger of the new coronavirus is how easily it spreads. Health officials confirmed it is transmitted through respiratory droplets and close contact to people can lead to much higher chances of exposure. Monteiro said this is partially due to how long the virus lasts out in the open.

“The virus can have its presence even after the person with the infection leaves,” he said. “It stays in the air for up to three hours and stays on surfaces for up to days. There have been varying numbers presented, but we certainly know it sticks around.”

While many people around North Carolina and the country are struggling to get quick tests to confirm cases, Monteiro said the recent approval of outside sources being able to run tests improves how often responses can be returned.

“Now we are able to send our tests to a lab like LabCorp or Quest and they’ll run the test,” said Monteiro. “The local entities are developing their own tests, that’s been approved. You want people to produce their own tests, as long as it’s accurate.”

Ultimately, Monteiro recommends continuing the practices being broadcast across the United States. Washing your hands often and thoroughly, covering all coughs and sneezes and keeping physical distances from others are main ways to be preventative. He said even those who believe they won’t be affected by catching the virus should still practice public health and keep others in mind.

“Protect those people in your life who are vulnerable to this,” Monteiro said, “and those are the elderly and those are folks who have other medical or co-morbid conditions. The way we can protect them is by having very good hygiene and trying to keep ourselves from getting this illness.”

For those with questions about COVID-19 and how it is affecting county services, Orange County has established a hotline and text service.