COVID-19 is a new disease that means the world is still learning about it every day. Preventive and management guidelines are constantly changing in the light of new evidence every other day. Recently, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued a statement that coronavirus "does not spread easily" from people touching surfaces. Previously, the guidelines placed a much greater emphasis on this possibility.

New guidelines have come as a surprise to most people, definitely a pleasant one, especially those who have obsessed over disinfecting their homes' doorknobs, countertops, stairs rails, and all other surfaces they come in contact with in the past two-three months. The new CDC guidelines say that it may be possible for the virus to spread in these ways, but it is not thought to be the "main way" of virus transmission.

Remember that CDC had previously warned the public that they can get infected “by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes”. But now their stance has shifted and they've placed this possibility under a new category of causes that “do not” allow the virus to “spread easily". But, there’s a catch: It's still the case that surface transmission is possible. So you mustn't give up disinfecting surfaces just yet.

CDC official statement is as follows:

"The primary and most important mode of transmission for COVID-19 is through close contact from person-to-person. Based on data from lab studies on COVID-19 and what we know about similar respiratory diseases, it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this isn’t thought to be the main way the virus spreads."

Experts take on the updated guidance is that people need to stay vigilant as there's still a possibility that transmission via surfaces can occur. As the virus is immensely contagious relaxing and going about what used to be a normal day-to-day business in the past could be extremely dangerous. The best way to keep the bug at bay is by practicing social distancing and avoiding public contact as much as possible.