March 16, 2020

Environmental contamination of the SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare premises: An urgent call for protection for healthcare workers

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

• In this investigation of 626 surface samples in hospital in Wuhan, the authors describe the most contaminated zones, objects and personal protection equipment: ICU for novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP), 31.9%; Obstetric Isolation Ward for pregnant women with NCP, 28.1%; Isolation Ward for NCP, 19.6%; self-service printers, 20%; hand sanitizer dispenser, 20.3%; and gloves, 15.4%. 
• The findings emphasize the urgent need to ensure adequate environmental cleaning, strengthen infection prevention training, and improve precautions among HCWs during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Ye et al. (Mar 11, 2020). Environmental contamination of the SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare premises: An urgent call for protection for healthcare workers. Pre-print downloaded Mar 16 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.11.20034546.