Coronavirus 'can stick to face masks for up to seven days'

The coronavirus can remain on the outer layer of a face mask for a week, research from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has found.

Bacteria from COVID-19 can also stick to stainless steel and plastic surfaces for up to four days, the study, published in the medical journal Lancet, said.

The report is among latest research into the stability the coronavirus and what measures can stem its transmission.

Researchers found that popular household disinfectants, including bleach, were effective in "killing" the virus.

Their work included testing how long the virus could remain infectious at room temperature on different surfaces.

"Strikingly," the researchers said, the virus was detected on the outer layer of a surgical face mask after seven days.

The finding supports advice by medical experts including the WHO that people wearing a face mask should not touch the outside of it.

They caution that if you contaminate your hands from the mask, it can easily be transferred to your face or eyes.

And it also supports widespread advice that regular hand washing can help stop infections.

They should really make up their minds. I heard it was as much as 9 days on steel surfaces.

Railings at train stations are supposedly rife with this bug.

We hear of possible cures every week. It's just desperation ... false hope ... nothing is confirmed as of yet ... best to protect oneself through watching what you touch and protecting your face from spittle.

Yet the doctor in South Korea where they're flattening their curve without a lockdown says they swear by masks and he can't understand the West's resistance to them other than wanting to keep more available to medical personnel.

At least the Koreans wear them on their faces, not hanging around their necks or chins like South Africans who apparently seem to want to be seen making an effort to have a mask, but are too shy to actually use them as intended.