Not a medical expert at all, but where is this good news? A quick google (not always reliable of course) seems to indicate otherwise.
On the Diamond Princess I have read several reports that the Food Trays were thought to one factor in transmission of the virus.
Monash University professor of infectious diseases, Allen Cheng, said the virus was most likely spreading through poor hand hygiene and contaminated food trays.
“The virus was most likely spread not through coughs and sneezes, but from the food trays an infected crew member carried to the passengers,” Shigeru Sakurai, an Iwate Medical University professor, who inspected the situation onboard last week, told the Kyodo news agency.
and
As the new coronavirus spreads quickly around the world, U.S. health officials say they are 'aggressively' assessing how long it can survive on surfaces to better understand the risk of transmission.
www.japantimes.co.jp
How long can coronavirus survive on surfaces?
REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
As the new coronavirus
spreads quickly around the world, U.S. health officials say they are “aggressively” assessing how long it can survive on surfaces to better understand the risk of transmission.
Based on what is known about similar coronaviruses, disease experts say the new outbreak of the virus,
named COVID-19, is mainly spread from person to person through coughing or sneezing. Contact with fecal matter from an infected person may also transmit the virus.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it may be possible for a person to become infected by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or eyes.
An analysis of 22 earlier studies of similar coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), published online this month in the Journal of Hospital Infection, concluded that human coronaviruses can remain infectious on inanimate surfaces for up to nine days at room temperature. However, they can quickly be rendered inactive using common disinfectants and may also dissipate at higher temperatures. It is not yet clear whether the new coronavirus is similar.
“On copper and steel, it’s pretty typical — it’s pretty much about two hours,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday, referring to how long the new coronavirus may be active on those types of materials. “But I will say on other surfaces — cardboard or plastic — it’s longer, and so we are looking at this.”