Emergency services nurses at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington wear medical face shields to protect themselves from infection. A study by the University of Hong Kong has found that the eyes are an important route of infection for the new coronavirus to enter the body, RTHK reports. Laboratory tests revealed that the "virus level" of Sars-CoV-2 – the strain of coronavirus that causes Covid-19 – was far greater than for Sars in the upper respiratory airways and conjunctiva, the cells lining the surfaces of the eyes. The team, led by Dr Michael Chan from HKU's school of public health, published their findings in the latest issue of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. In a previous study, the team discovered that the coronavirus can remain alive for seven days on plastic and stainless steel surfaces.

Source: The Standard May 08, 2020 04:28 UTC