The CDC says that coronavirus does not spread easily by touching contaminated objects.

[Igel]

63. CDC said "be careful."

All the reports from researchers said otherwise.

Virus was found 3 days after being placed on a surface? Fine. How was the virus identified? Oh. PCR. So viral RNA was found. Could it be infectious? Mostly no, but such studies are far rarer than those using PCR tests.

Even in the few that showed virus was still viable, they pointed to the kinetics of viral breakdown and said that it was highly unlikely that there was enough left to be infectious, even under optimal conditions.

That was the science in late March/early April. It hasn't changed. I stopped the rabid handwashing back in early April.


I'm also backtracking on something, as well. Recently it was shown that the real risk isn't from most infected people, but some individuals in high-contact situations right at the point where they have high viral loads and are shedding virus in ways that allow it to be transmitted. It makes sense of the PCR's claim that it was unclear that human-to-human transmission was anything more than "possible", with the clarification that it was possible only in places likes homes where the infected person is in close, constant, long contact with the uninfected person. (Still, the appropriate response would have been to make all the data available and to say that while most of the known cases were from that mode of transmission, the known cases numbered about 3 dozen and it's far better to err on the side of caution, esp. given that the caveat was based on "most" and the CP in China did what they usually do in assuming all the known cases were all the cases--assume complete knowledge.)