Coronavirus can spread through hospital ward ‘in ten hours’
Researchers tracked how virus travelled more than 260ft from single spot in isolation room

Coronavirus can spread throughout a hospital ward from a single spot in just ten hours and then linger for at least five days, a new study shows.
Researchers from University College Hospital (UCL) and Great Ormond Street Hospital tested the potential spread of Covid-19 by leaving a millilitre of water containing a section of DNA from a non-contagious virus on a bed in an isolation room, used for high-risk or infected patients.
After ten hours, the virus was detected in 41% of samples taken across the hospital ward, “including bed rails, door handles, arm rests in a waiting room and children’s toys and books”, reports The Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And within five days, it could be detected on up to 86% of sites on the ward and had travelled more than 260ft (79 metres), The Telegraph says.
Study co-author Dr Lena Ciric, an environmental microbiologist at UCL, said the virus DNA - added to the water at a similar concentration to coronavirus DNA found in patient samples - was spread through “the touching of surfaces by staff, patients and visitors”.
The findings show “the important role that surfaces play in the transmission of a virus and how critical it is to adhere to good hygiene and cleaning”, she added, pointing out a person infected with Covid-19 may also spread the infection by coughing and sneezing.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The research, outlined in a newly published paper in the Journal of Hospital Infection, did not determine how likely it was that someone would be infected from the amount of the viral DNA found on the surfaces.
A previous study published in the New England Medical Journal that investigated how long Covid-19 could survive on various services found that the virus could still be detected on plastic and stainless steel after 72 hours.
However, the quantity of the virus present “dropped rapidly over time”, according to The Guardian.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
How the care industry came to rely on migrant workers
The Explainer Government crackdown on recruiting workers abroad risks deepening care sector crisis, industry leaders warn
-
Could medics' misgivings spell the end of the assisted dying bill?
Today's Big Question The Royal College of Psychiatrists has identified 'serious concerns' with the landmark bill – and MPs are taking notice
-
RFK Jr.: A new plan for sabotaging vaccines
Feature The Health Secretary announced changes to vaccine testing and asks Americans to 'do your own research'
-
Washwood Heath: Birmingham's pioneering neighbourhood health service
In the Spotlight NHS England chair says there is a 'really good argument this is the model for the future'
-
Five years on: How Covid changed everything
Feature We seem to have collectively forgotten Covid’s horrors, but they have completely reshaped politics
-
The UK's first legal drug consumption room
The Explainer 'Potentially transformative moment in UK drugs policy' as The Thistle opens in Glasgow