what is a fomite? Covid19
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In this installment in our series explaining key terms and phrases used by public health officials in discussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, we review the term “fomite.”
Understanding how the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spreads has been a priority of the public health community. When discussing modes of transmission of the virus, public health officials sometimes use the term “fomite.”
Fomites are inanimate objects that can become contaminated with an infectious agent (such as a virus) and facilitate the transmission of that infectious agent to another person. Examples of fomites include items such as elevator buttons, door handles, and cardboard boxes. One way a virus can get onto these items is when an infected person does not wash their hands after coughing or sneezing, and then touches these surfaces.