If the Omicron Virus Touches Your Skin, How Long Can It Live? Research

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads much faster compared to previous strains, which is associated with the new variant's resilience. Scientists from Kyoto University in Japan have found that Omicron can survive much longer on plastic objects and human skin than previous variants of the virus.

According to a study published on the Biorxiv portal, the average survival time of the Wuhan SARS-CoV-2 variant on plastic was 56 hours, that of Delta was 114 hours, while Omicron lasted for 193.5 hours.

The research also showed that on skin samples from deceased individuals, the Wuhan variant of the virus remained viable for 8.6 hours, whereas Omicron lasted for 21.1 hours. This level of viability, as expected, contributes to the virus spreading more rapidly.

It is noteworthy that the incubation period for Omicron is between 2 to 5 days, while that of previous variants averaged 6 to 8 days. The new strain transmits 7 times faster than Delta, and an individual infected with Omicron can begin to infect others from the very first day.