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The novel coronavirus may survive for far lesser time on porous surfaces such as paper and clothes than on impermeable surfaces like glass and plastic, a study by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay suggests.
COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is transmitted through respiratory droplets.
The virus-laden droplets also form fomite upon falling on a surface, which serves as a source for infection spread. In the study, published in the journal Physics of Fluids, the researchers analysed the drying of droplets on impermeable and porous surfaces. They found that a droplet remains liquid for a much shorter time on a porous surface, making it less favourable to the survival of the virus.