Question: Do we know how long the virus can survive without at host?

Answer passage (source: WHO):
page_title: Questions relating to consumers
section_headers: Can the virus live on the surface of foods (including fruits and vegetables, frozen foods, pre-packaged foods)?
section_content: Coronaviruses cannot multiply in food – they need a live animal or human host
to multiply and survive (see question 10 of Questions relating to food
businesses).  

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Clearly states that coronavirus can't multiply outside of a host.
This answer is bad because it includes no information as to how long the virus lasts on surfaces.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Bad

Answer passage (source: WHO):
page_title: Q&A on coronaviruses (COVID-19)
section_headers: How long does the virus survive on surfaces?
section_content: The most important thing to know about coronavirus on surfaces is that they
can easily be cleaned with common household disinfectants that will kill the
virus. Studies have shown that the COVID-19 virus can survive for up to 72
hours on plastic and stainless steel, less than 4 hours on copper and less
than 24 hours on cardboard.
As, always clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with
soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose.

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Gives very specific answers about how long coronavirus can survive on different surfaces.
This answer is excellent because it directly answers the question about how long the virus survives on surfaces.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Excellent

Answer passage (source: WHO):
page_title: Questions relating to food businesses
section_headers: What is known about various conditions affecting survivability of the virus?
section_content: Very little is known about how the SARS-CoV-2 virus survives outside the human
body. Probably the most up-to-date summary of scientific information we have
on survival in the environment is from the European Centre for Disease control
(ECDC) and the following is extracted from their recent technical
report:
Recent publications have evaluated the survival of SARS-CoV-2 on different
surfaces. According to van Doremalen et al., the environmental stability of
SARS-CoV-2 is up to three hours in the air post-aerosolization, up to four
hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on
plastic and stainless steel, albeit with significantly decreased titres [3].
These findings are comparable with results obtained for environmental
stability of SARS-CoV-1. These findings resulted from experiments in a
controlled environment and should be interpreted with caution in the real-life
environment. Moreover, different levels of environmental contamination have
been detected in rooms of COVID-19 patients, ranging from 1 out of 13 to 13
out of 15 samples testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 before cleaning. No air
samples were positive in these studies, but one sample from an air exhaust
outlet was positive indicating that virus particles may be displaced by air
and deposited on surfaces [4,5]. In a study of environmental contamination in
a Chinese hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in
environmental samples from the COVID-19 dedicated intensive care units (ICU),
the COVID-19 dedicated obstetric isolation ward and the COVID-19 dedicated
isolation ward. SARS-CoV-2 was also detected on objects such as the self-
service printers used by patients to self-print the results of their exams,
desktop keyboards and doorknobs. Virus was detected most commonly on gloves
(15.4% of samples) and rarely on eye protection (1.7%) [6]. This evidence
shows the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the environment of a COVID-19 patient,
therefore reinforcing the belief that fomites play a role in transmission of
SARS-CoV-2; however, the relative importance of this route of transmission
compared to direct exposure to respiratory droplets is still unclear.

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Summarizes the existing information on how long coronavirus can survive outside the human body.
This answer needs to be improved because it doesn’t specifically talk about how long the virus stays on a surface without a host. The answer still is not bad though because it does talk extensively about how the virus lives on other surfaces.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Could be Improved