How long does coronavirus live on different types of surfaces?

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed plastic is the surface the virus remains viable on for the longest - up to 72 hours. On stainless steel the virus was detected up to 48 hours after application. For cardboard it was 24 hours and for copper just four hours.

But Dr Bharat Pankhania, clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter, says that rather than try to keep a running list of how the virus operates on various different surfaces and when you last cleaned them in your head, “your mindset needs to be that everything, everyone, everywhere is contaminated. And whatever you handle is a potential risk.”

But that doesn’t mean you need to be afraid of everything you touch, it just means you need to keep up with washing your hands. “Do it meticulously every two hours, mindfully,” Dr Pankhania says, and that is the solution.”