CDC Prioritizes Clean Air Strategies to Combat COVID-19 Transmission Over Surface Cleaning
Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cleared the air, so to speak, when updating its guidance on surface cleaning.
Citing how SARS-CoV-2 spreads via airborne transmission, the CDC now notes a decreased risk of COVID-19 transmission on surfaces, taking a stance considered overdue by experts in the scientific community. Given SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that spreads through the air, many experts have been advocating to prioritize mitigation strategies that improve indoor air quality such as supplemental filtration and improved ventilation in indoor spaces.
The CDC has issued important guidelines regarding COVID-19.
The CDC’s announcement on April 5, 2021 noted:
The principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus. It is possible for people to be infected through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects (fomites), but the risk is generally considered to be low.
Leaders in the scientific community welcomed the CDC’s formal guidance, particularly those whose research has pointed to an obsessive approach with surface cleaning such as this study published in The Lancet in July 2020. And the New York Times coverage cites several experts in agreement of stepping away from “cleaning theater” and rather focusing mitigation on improved ventilation and indoor air quality.
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The CDC went on to conclude: People can be infected with SARS-CoV-2 through contact with surfaces. However, based on available epidemiological data and studies of environmental transmission factors, surface transmission is not the main route by which SARS-CoV-2 spreads, and the risk is considered to be low. The principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus. In most situations, cleaning surfaces using soap or detergent, and not disinfecting, is enough to reduce risk…
This CDC overview offers the recommended approach to cleaning in the home with added precautions in the event a family member is ill.
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