According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, the virus can last on surfaces from hours to days, depending on the material but that doesn't mean that it is spreading this way. Dr. René Gottschalk, Head of the Health Department in Germany explains, “In principle, it is entirely irrelevant how long pathogens can survive on surfaces. What is decisive is whether it is an infection channel.” Dr. Christine Tait-Burkard, expert in infection and immunity at the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh said earlier this year that the risk of contracting the virus is very small "unless someone is using a bank note to sneeze in; [and] coins are actually very bad environments for viruses to survive.” Prompted by a sense that clear messaging from authorities was lacking, the CDC's website update attempts makes this clear, if it wasn't already.

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