Omicron-1 survives on surfaces 3X longer than original

Omicron survives longer on some surfaces, studies find. That may help explain why it's more contagious, but it's no reason to panic

CNN

• "I think that maybe surfaces could be a little more important than they were with the ancestral strain. I still do not think that does not mean that surfaces are dominant, though,"

  Lab studies of BA.1 (which is less contagious than BA.2)

Stealth’ Omicron Is Stealthy No More: What’s Known About the BA.2 Variant New York Times March 18, 2022

• "And in a study in Hong Kong, researchers estimated that during an outbreak of BA.2 in a public housing complex, the virus doubled every 1.28 days."

Note: Surface transmission becomes important when people are not wearing masks

1. Maskless infected person who is much more likely to leave a virus on a surface

2. Maskless victim touches the surface, then touches their face

Note: Infections not needing hospitalization can still result in long-haul for many months or years

• COVID long-haul: 1 million in US too sick to work, many cannot get compensation - March 2021