International journal of hygiene and environmental health
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Int J Hyg Environ Health · Sep 2020
Surfaces and equipment contamination by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the emergency department at a university hospital.
Environmental contamination by patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) through respiratory droplets suggests that surfaces and equipment could be a medium of transmission. We aimed to assess the surface and equipment contamination by SARS-COV-2 of an emergency department (ED) during the coronavirus infectious disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. ⋯ Our findings suggest that surfaces and equipment contamination by SARS-CoV-2 RNA in an ED during the COVID-19 outbreak is low and concerns exclusively patients' examination and monitoring rooms, preserving non-patient care areas.