Modeling COVID-19 infection risks for a single hand-to-fomite scenario and potential risk reductions offered by surface disinfection

We used a quantitative microbial risk assessment approach to relate log(10) disinfection reductions of SARS-CoV-2 bioburden to COVID-19 infection risks. Under low viral bioburden, minimal log(10) reductions may be needed to reduce infection risks for a single hand-to-fomite touch to levels lower than 1:1,000,000, as a risk comparison point. For higher viral bioburden conditions, log(10) reductions of more than 2 may be needed to achieve median infection risks of less than 1:1,000,000. (C) 2020 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In low viral bioburden conditions, minimal log(10) reductions may suffice to reduce infection risks, while higher reductions are needed for conditions with higher viral bioburden to achieve infection risks below 1:1,000,000.