• Jie Zhou, Jonathan A Otter, James R Price, Cristina Cimpeanu, Danel Meno Garcia, James Kinross, Piers R Boshier, Sam Mason, Frances Bolt, Alison H Holmes, and Wendy S Barclay.
• Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
• Clin. Infect. Dis. 2021 Oct 5; 73 (7): e1870-e1877.

BackgroundWe evaluated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) surface and air contamination during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in London.MethodsProspective, cross-sectional, observational study in a multisite London hospital. Air and surface samples were collected from 7 clinical areas occupied by patients with COVID-19 and a public area of the hospital. Three or four 1.0-m3 air samples were collected in each area using an active air sampler. Surface samples were collected by swabbing items in the immediate vicinity of each air sample. SARS-CoV-2 was detected using reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and viral culture; the limit of detection for culturing SARS-CoV-2 from surfaces was determined.ResultsViral RNA was detected on 114 of 218 (52.3%) surfaces and in 14 of 31 (38.7%) air samples, but no virus was cultured. Viral RNA was more likely to be found in areas immediately occupied by COVID-19 patients than in other areas (67 of 105 [63.8%] vs 29 of 64 [45.3%]; odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.2-0.9; P = .025, χ2 test). The high PCR cycle threshold value for all samples (>30) indicated that the virus would not be culturable.ConclusionsOur findings of extensive viral RNA contamination of surfaces and air across a range of acute healthcare settings in the absence of cultured virus underlines the potential risk from environmental contamination in managing COVID-19 and the need for effective use of personal protective equipment, physical distancing, and hand/surface hygiene.© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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