Comparative Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 transmits principally by air; contact and fomite transmission may also occur. Variants of concern are more transmissible than ancestral SARS-CoV-2. We found indications of possible increased aerosol and surface stability for early variants of concern, but not for the Delta and Omicron variants. Stability changes are unlikely to explain increased transmissibility.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• coronavirus disease
• SARS-CoV-2
• severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
• viruses
• respiratory infections