The novel coronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, can be stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces, according to a significant study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles in the US found that the virus could be acquired through the air and by touching contaminated objects.

By mimicking the virus being deposited from a COVID-19 confirmed patient onto surfaces in homes and hospital settings by coughing or touching objects, the scientists found: