Claim

The Covid-19 virus cannot survive on an inanimate object for more than nine days.

Source: The second-hand clothing lobby group, the Mitumba Association of Kenya (July 2020)

correct

Verdict

Explainer: Scientific evidence relied on by the World Health Organization, drawn from studies and reviews, shows the virus which causes Covid-19 only survives on surfaces for at most nine days.

  • In pressuring the Kenyan government to lift the ban on second-hand clothes imports, a lobby group said clothes ship for an average of 45 days but the Covid-19 virus cannot survive that long, and so the imports pose no health risks.
  • Evidence shows the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s survival is similar to SARS-CoV-1, which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, and ranges from two hours to nine days.
  • Experts say the virus is unlikely to survive on textiles beyond one to two days, and definitely not longer than nine days.

Researched by Vincent Ng’ethe

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Teresia Njenga, the chairperson of the Mitumba Association of Kenya, in a July 2020 press conference where she called for a ban on imports of popular second-hand clothes to be lifted. (Photo: KTN News)

Kenyan officials are under pressure to rescind a ban on imports of second-hand clothes, popularly known in the country as “mitumba”.

The government imposed the ban in March 2020, citing the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In 2019 the country imported 184,555 tonnes of second-hand clothing with an estimated value of KSh17.8 billion, according to official data.  It was one of the country’s top 20 imports.

Second-hand clothes dealers have criticised the ban as harsh, arguing that imported garments do not pose a public health risk.

“The latest scientific advice indicates that the importation of second-hand garments and shoes into Kenya poses no credible public health risk,” said Teresia Njenga, the chairperson of the Mitumba Association of Kenya.

This is because the goods are shipped “for 45 days on average” and in “sealed containers,” she told reporters in July 2020.

“The scientific evidence concludes that the Covid-19 virus cannot survive on an inanimate object for more than nine days. Additionally, in the period since March, the World Health Organization has not prohibited the movement of goods or commodities as a measure to contain the spread of Covid-19,” Njenga said.

We checked if the evidence fits these claims.

(Note: We have asked the organisation for the source of its claim on how long the new coronavirus survives and will update this report with their response.)

Survival of Covid-19 on surfaces similar to other coronaviruses

According to a team of global health experts at the Meedan Digital Health Lab, SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19, can survive from three hours to seven days. The lab works to simplify health and medical science.

According to April 2020 guidance by the World Health Organization, or WHO, the survival of the virus “on surfaces is similar to that of SARS-CoV1, the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars)”. This ranges from two hours to nine days.

To support this observation, WHO cited two studies. Africa Check contacted two of the experts involved. 

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