Touching surfaces not as dangerous as previously thought.

Byline: Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON -- The coronavirus 'does not spread easily' by touching surfaces or objects, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), changing its previous guidelines which placed a greater emphasis on this possibility.

The CDC had previously warned that people 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 the new guidelines, issued this week, said 'this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads'.

The CDC has now placed this possibility under a new category of causes that 'do not' allow the virus to 'spread easily', although such infections 'may still be possible'.

Explaining the change, the official US health agency clarified that 'Covid-19 is a new disease and we are still learning more about this virus'.

The CDC also challenged the general perception that the virus can easily spread from animals to people. 'At this time, the risk of Covid-19 spreading from animals to people is considered to be low,' it said.

The new guidelines, however, warned that the virus 'can spread from people to animals in some situations'.

The CDC said it was 'aware of a small number of pets worldwide, including cats and dogs, reported to be infected with the virus that causes Covid-19, mostly after close contact...