Japanese researchers have discovered through laboratory tests that the Omicron variant survives longer on plastic and skin than previous strains of the Coronavirus. It is a possible explanation for why Omicron has spread so rapidly around the world.
- On plastic surfaces, the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants survived on average less than 100 hours,
- the Omicron variant survives for 193.5 hours.
- On human skin, taken from cadavers, Omicron survives 21.6 hours,
- whereas the original version of COVID-19 survived 8.6 hours.
However, it is important to note that on the skin, all variants were completely inactivated after being exposed to alcohol-based disinfectants.
Stay safe and keep sanitising and washing your hands.
