The US indicates that the risk of contagion when touching COVID-contaminated surfaces is 1 in 10,000

A young woman disinfects the benches of the Church of Santa Genoveva, in Seville.Raúl Caro / EFE

The use of disinfectants is unnecessary in most everyday situations to combat the coronavirus, although they are sold as donuts.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reviewed all the scientific evidence on the spread of covid by surfaces and conclude that cleaning with soap or ordinary detergent is enough.

Above all, because the risk of contagion in this way, by touching a contaminated surface is very, very rare.

The CDC dares to put a figure: less than one contagion for every 10,000 times a point with coronavirus is touched.

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The CDC has long made it clear that the risk of infection via this route is highly unlikely, but they have now conducted a specific analysis.

"Due to the many factors that affect the efficiency of environmental transmission, the relative risk of fomite transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is considered low compared to direct contact, droplet transmission or airborne transmission," they point out in your review.

Fomites is what this mode of contagion is called, while direct contact with an infected person is still considered the most dangerous, which when talking, coughing, etc., generates droplets of different sizes that can be inhaled by another person.

The CDC stresses that masks and hand hygiene are also a good strategy against possible contagion from surfaces.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) also points out in its guidelines that this route of infection is the least likely and highlights that after millions of patients worldwide, no case of infection by fomites.

The CDC further indicates that, as with contagion by inhaling the virus in suspension, the outdoors are also less dangerous for infection by surfaces “due to dilution and air movement, as well as more difficult environmental conditions, such as sunlight".

All health agencies and authorities advise against fumigation or fogging of places and this CDC document reiterates that it is neither useful nor safe.

And it only recommends the use of special disinfectants, beyond normal soap, "in situations where there has been a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 indoors within the last 24 hours."

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