Lesser durability of COVID19 virus on aluminium surface makes it a more preferred metal than others

There is no end to research, inspection, and introspection around the currently much talked about virus SARS-CoV-2, or popularly known as COVID19. The more its impacts are being reported across the world, the more it is triggering investigation among medical sciences. Research says what worries the most is the virus’s high rate of contagion, as it can survive outside the human body, in the air, and on surfaces such as metal, glass, and plastics, if they are not properly disinfected.

It has been evident that human-to-human transmissions have an incubation time of 2 to 10 days, spreading through air droplets. But when these droplets reach surfaces, such as walls, clothing, furniture, or other objects, the virus behaves differently depending on the type of surface it lands on. On plastic and stainless steel surfaces, the virus lives for about 48 to 72 hours, while on copper, it dies after 4 hours and on aluminium after 2 to 8 hours. On glass or wood surfaces, the virus  remains present for up to 4 days.

So, the various tests that have been run through the different metal surfaces indicate that aluminium has the least durability of COVID19 virus compared to other metal/material surfaces like copper, stainless steel, plastics, glass or wood.  Thus, this makes aluminium a much more preferred and safe metal for the usage in this current situation.

Many companies are exploring various ways as well to enhance the usage of the metal in this pandemic, making it safer for  consumers. For instance, a start-up company A3 Surfaces, based in Saguenay, Quebec, has developed a ground-breaking technology that can transform aluminium products into antimicrobial surfaces capable of eliminating the risks of bacterial and viral disease transmission in a matter of seconds to a few minutes. Applying this technology in hospitals, public transports and other public areas that have used aluminium products can help prevent the next pandemic.

The company believes technology is expected to be a game changer in the near future that will make the prime aluminium a cleaner material to produce.