Table 6. Open Questions on Transmission and Disinfection of SARS-CoV-2^a.

fomite transmission

•What is the infectivity of the fomite transmission route compared with other routes?

•What is the adhesion and transfer efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 between human skins and different surfaces?

•How can we better quantify and predict how surface properties of the virus and surfaces influence the adhesion, transfer, and persistence characteristics?

•How can infective viruses be detected more quickly (less than a few hours) than current methods?

•How can we better predict the locations and objects that are at high risk of virus contamination and design tools to mitigate this risk?

surface disinfection

•How can one better predict the rate of virus inactivation based on its structure and composition?

•How do the surface properties (e.g., roughness, porosity, wettability, and presence of impurities) alter disinfectant effectiveness?

•What is the optimal disinfection strategy to maximize disinfection effectiveness but minimize side effects, including health hazards, pollution, and damage to surfaces?

•What innovations are needed for self-disinfecting surface technologies to be adopted broadly?

^aA number of questions are also applicable to other viruses.