Can I catch coronavirus / COVID-19 from my phone?

With concerns mounting around the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, questions are flying about how best to protect oneself from the virus. Organizations like the CDC and World Health Organization have been publishing and circulating guidelines on how to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in your community.

One of the most commonly cited tactics to avoid contact with COVID-19 is exercising everyday preventative behaviors, such as basic handwashing and mindfulness about touching your face with your hands.

However, iPhone and other smartphone owners—which is, let's be honest, the bulk of the population these days—may have a hidden danger lurking in their pockets or purses. Even though phone owners may be mindful about touching their face after coming in contact with public surfaces, those same individuals may be likely to pick up their phone to send a text or browse the web without thinking about practicing hand hygiene first—only to later pick up that phone and hold it to their face to make a call or listen to a voicemail.

According to information published by the World Health Organization in 2003 regarding the stability and resistance of the SARS coronavirus, SARS-coronaviruses can survive on glass and plastic surfaces anywhere between 72 and 96 hours.

So what's the take home? Extend your mindfulness and hygiene regimen to not just your hands and face, but your phone, too. If you come in contact with a surface that would prompt you to wash your hands before touching your face, be sure to wash you hands before touching your phone, as well.

Visit How to Disinfect and Clean your phone, and learn how to keep viruses and bacteria off your iPhone.