Covid-19 can live on clothing for up to 72 hours

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Covid-19 can survive on clothing for up to THREE DAYS – with polyester clothing holding up the virus the longest, scientists warn

  • De Montfort University (DMU) has put drops of model virus on clothing
  • It will live on polyester for 3 days, cotton for 2 days and polycotton for 6 hours
  • Researchers advise that all health care uniforms be washed to industry standard
  • Be warned that a washer wash at least 67 ° C can kill the virus at home but the virus can rub another surface beforehand.

By Joe Pinkstone For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Covid-19-like coronaviruses can live on clothing for up to three days, according to a new study.

Research conducted by De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester on how coronavirus carries on three tissues commonly used in the healthcare industry.

Polyester allows the virus to survive at infectious rates for up to 72 hours, but it dies within 24 hours on 100 percent cotton.

However, coronaviruses can only survive on a polycotton hybrid for six hours, the study found.

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Covid-19-like coronaviruses can live on clothing for up to three days, according to a new study (file image)

The study used a coronavirus model called HCoV-OC43 that is very similar to SARS-CoV-2, the Covid-19-causing virus.

Drops were added to polyester, polycotton and cotton to see how long the virus lasted on these surfaces.

The findings are worrying, the researchers say, because if a live virus sticks to the clothes of health care professionals it could be taken from the hospital and into a staff home and rubbed on different surfaces, allowing it to spread.

Microbiologist Dr Katie Laird, who led the study, has advised the Government that all healthcare uniforms should be shipped in hospitals to commercial standards or by industrial laundry.

Dr Laird, head of the Infectious Disease Research Group at DMU, ​​said: ‘When the pandemic first started there was little understanding of how long a coronavirus can live on clothing.

Our findings show that three of the most common clothing products in health care pose a risk for transmitting the virus.

‘If nurses and health care workers take the uniform home, they could leave traces of the virus on another surface. ‘

The virus was fully functional only when a detergent was used and the water was at least 67 ° C but researchers say all healthcare uniforms should be worn. wash to industrial level and not take it home with workers

The virus was fully functional only when a detergent was used and the water was at least 67 ° C but researchers say all healthcare uniforms should be worn. wash to industrial level and not take it home with workers

Loss of smell and taste can last up to FIVE MONTHS after Covid-19 infection

Relapsed covid patients may lose their sense of smell and taste after being infected with the coronavirus if their senses return for up to five months.

Anosmia, loss or change of smell and taste, is formally recognized as a sign of coronavirus disease.

Data from the Office for National Statistics show that half of coronavirus patients experience symptoms with 16 and 17 percent of these experiencing some form of loss of smell and taste, respectively.

Researchers from the University of Quebec studied 813 health care workers who contracted Covid-19.

More than a third (38 percent) of those who lost consciousness did not regain their taste after five months.

Public Health England (PHE) published guidance in 2020 that the uniforms of healthcare workers should be returned to industry standards.

However, there is an exception to this if it is deemed impossible.

The NHS says washing a home at least 60 ° C is good and able to get rid of pathogens.

However, Dr Laird warns that the management of this NHS is based on 14-year evidence and requires urgent review.

The researchers advised the NHS to test 100 percent cotton, the most common garment used in a healthcare environment.

When the virus was mixed with artificial saliva the researchers found that home washing machines cannot remove the entire virus.

Only when a detergent was used and the water was at least 67 ° C was the virus fully active.

‘While we can see from the research that washing these products at high temperatures, even in a home washing machine, removes the virus, it does not eliminate the risk of contaminated clothing. leave traces of coronavirus on another surface in the home or car before washing.

‘We now know that the virus can live for up to 72 hours on some clothes and can spread to other surfaces as well.

This research has confirmed my recommendation that all health care uniforms should be washed on site at hospitals or at an industrial laundry.

‘These washing methods are regulated and nurses and healthcare staff do not have to worry about bringing the virus home.’

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