• Li Wei, Wenzhi Huang, Xiaojun Lu, Yantong Wang, Linzhi Cheng, Rong Deng, Haiyan Long, and Zhiyong Zong.
• Department of Infection Control, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
• Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2020 Oct 29; 9 (1): 167.

ObjectivesWe performed an environmental sampling study to investigate the environmental contamination of SARS-CoV-2 by COVID-19 patients with prolonged PCR positive status of clinical samples.MethodsWe sampled the air from rooms for nine COVID-19 patients with illness or positive PCR > 30 days, before and after nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabbing and before and after nebulization treatment. We also sampled patients' surroundings and healthcare workers' personal protection equipment (PPE) in a non-ICU ward. SARS-CoV-2 was detected by PCR.ResultsEighty-eight samples were collected from high-touch surfaces and floors in patient rooms and toilets, with only the bedsheets of two patients and one toilet positive for SARS-CoV-2. All air samples (n = 34) were negative for SARS-CoV-2. Fifty-five samples collected from PPE were all negative.ConclusionContamination of near-patient surroundings was uncommon for COVID-19 patients with prolonged PCR positive status if environmental cleaning/disinfection were performed rigorously. Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was unlikely in these non-ICU settings.

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