Can coronavirus spread through clothes and shoes?

COVID-19 is a contagious infection and it can spread in various ways, such as:

1. COVID-19 infection can spread through person to person contact

When a person infected with COVID-19 sneezes or coughs, they contaminate the air-particles around them. If these infected air-particles are sniffed or smelled by a healthy individual, the virus in the air enters their body through mouth, nose and eyes. 

2. COVID-19 infection can spread through contaminated surfaces

The COVID-19 infection can spread through indirect contact which includes high-touch surfaces, tabletops, etc. An infected person can spread the virus-containing droplets on the surrounding objects and surfaces on sneezing and coughing. When a healthy person gets in contact with these infected surfaces, the virus sticks to the surface of their hands and enters into the body of through eyes, nose and mouth.

3. COVID-19 infection can spread through the community

A person in a community who is infected with COVID-19 but is unaware of how and where they got infected, can spread the virus quickly in the people living in that community.

If you are not a healthcare worker you do not have to worry about the transmission of COVID-19 virus through clothes and shoes. Doctors stated that there is no evidence that proves that clothes and shoes can spread this infectious disease. However, doctors and medical staff who are working with the patients suffering from COVID-19 infection have to take certain precautions to reduce the possibility of spreading the infection.

The following measures can be taken by healthcare workers to prevent the spread of infection through clothes and shoes:

• Take a shower and change into clean clothes and shoes before heading home.
• If you have coughed or sneezed in your sleeve, keep that piece of clothing in a separate laundry bag and wash it separately.
• Keep your soiled clothes and shoes in a bag. Wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer after removing work clothes and before touching clean clothes.
• If you are unable to change your clothes at work, remove the soiled clothes before entering the home. You can change the clothes in an isolated location such as a garage or separate laundry room.
• If you do not wear boot covers at work remove your shoes before entering the home. Clean them with disinfecting wipes.
• Keep separate shoes for work and for home.
• Wash the soiled clothes using your usual laundry detergent. If the clothes cannot be washed discard them into a separate cloth bag.
• Wear heavy-duty gloves while handling dirty laundry.