More Images
The viral burden of SARS-CoV-2 on floors, even in health care worker–only areas, was strongly associated with COVID-19 outbreaks in two acute-care hospitals, according to a new study from Ontario, Canada.

With every 10-fold increase in viral copies, the chance of an impending outbreak of COVID-19 rose 22-fold. The results suggest that frequent floor sampling could play an important role in a more localized surveillance of the virus, the authors wrote.

“These data add to the mounting evidence that built environment detection for SARS-CoV-2 may provide an additional layer of monitoring and could help inform local infection prevention and control measures,” they wrote. The study was published online on September 20 in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. Head over to Medscape to read the full story.