Contact infection

After all alcohol-based hand sanitizers, strange greeting rituals and a ban on meeting grandchildren, it seems that contact infection is of limited importance in spreading the virus. It says here that 0.1 per mille of the infections are contact infection (fomite infection).

“Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) studies have been conducted to understand and characterize the relative risk of SARS-CoV-2 fomite transmission and evaluate the need for and effectiveness of prevention measures to reduce risk. Findings of these studies suggest that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection via the fomite transmission route is low, and generally less than 1 in 10,000, which means that each contact with a contaminated surface has less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of causing an infection.”

• A. M. Wilson, M. H. Weir, S. F. Bloomfield, E. A. Scott and K. A. Reynold, “Modeling COVID-19 infection risks for a single hand-to-fomite scenario and potential risk reductions offered by surface disinfection,” American Journal of Infection Control, vol. Article In Press, pp. 1-3, 2020. 
• A. P. Harvey, E. R. Fuhrmeister, M. E. Cantrell, A. K. Pitol, S. J. M, J. E. Powers, M. L. Nadimpalli, T. R. Julian and A. J. Pickering, “Longitudinal monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on high-touch surfaces in a community setting,” Environmental Science & Technology Letters, pp. 168-175, 2020. 
• A. K. Pitol and T. R. Julian, “Community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by fomites: Risks and risk reduction strategies,” Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 2020.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html