SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19 can remain infectious on surfaces for long periods of time as researchers at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's national science agency, have found that it can survive for up to 28 days on common surfaces including banknotes, glass such as that found on mobile phone screens, and stainless steel.

The research, undertaken at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) in Geelong, found that SARS-CoV-2 survived longer at lower temperatures and tended to survive longer on non-porous or smooth surfaces such as glass, stainless steel and vinyl, compared to porous complex surfaces such as cotton.