News > Coronavirus can survive on human skin for up to nine hours, shows study

Coronavirus can survive on human skin for up to nine hours, shows study

Researchers in Japan have found that the coronavirus can survive on human skin for up to nine hours, offering further proof that regular handwashing can curb the spread of Covid-19. Both the coronavirus and the flu virus are inactivated within 15 seconds by applying ethanol, which is used in hand sanitisers.

The coronavirus lasted 11.09 hours, while the influenza A lasted 1.69 hours, the study said.