Researchers found traces of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on cruise ship cabin surfaces for up to 17 days after the passengers disembarked, they reported, although it was not possible to determine if they caused any contagion.
The experts analyzed the rooms of the infected passengers on board the Diamond Princess, both those who showed symptoms and those who did not, according to a study released on Monday in the Weekly Report of Morbidity and Mortality of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, in English).
The cruise, operated by Princess Cruises of Carnival Corp., recorded more than 700 cases of coronavirus. The ship was quarantined for a time off the coast of Yokohama, Japan, and at one point, it was the largest outbreak outside of mainland China.
A previous analysis had found that the virus remained viable on plastic and stainless steel for up to three days, although levels dropped dramatically over time. It was less stable in copper, where no viable virus was found after 4 hours, and in cardboard, which was clean after 24 hours, according to the report published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The last study looked at uncleaned rooms, but other research concluded that cleaning the rooms of patients with Covid-19 was very effective in killing the virus.
The coronavirus has forced the U.S. cruise ship industry to a standstill after a series of offshore outbreaks, and monetary policy makers are looking for clues to the safety of ships in the future.
The episodes have caused cruise line stocks to plummet. The industry has been affected in the past by outbreaks of norovirus, one of the causes of gastroenteritis.
The CDC report also concluded that Diamond Princess passengers transmitted the virus primarily before the ship went into quarantine, but contagions among the crew peaked afterward.
On another Princess Cruises ship, the Grand Princess, crew members have likely contracted the virus on a previous trip and then passed it on to passengers, according to the study.
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