Loss of smell a sign of Covid-19? On surfaces for 17 days

A group of British ear, nose, and throat specialists says the list of common Covid-19 symptoms should be expanded to include anosmia—the loss of sense of smell. Health officials currently list the disease’s main telltale symptoms as fever, a dry cough, and shortness of breath. But the U.K. team says that patients around the world have also reported loss of smell, even when they are otherwise symptom-free. The researchers say doctors have logged patients with anosmia in the U.K., South Korea, China, Iran, and Italy; that more than two-thirds of Covid-19 patients in Germany report it as one of their symptoms; and that it is the “major presenting symptom” for 30 percent of otherwise mild cases in South Korea. “It’s really important that we extend the criteria for which people self-isolate to include anybody with loss of taste and loss of sense of smell,” Claire Hopkins, president of the British Rhinological Society, tells The Daily

Traces of the coronavirus have been detected in cruise ship cabins 17 days after they were vacated by passengers. The discovery, reported by the Centers for Disease Control, illustrates the ability of the virus to linger on certain surfaces; previous research had suggested it could remain viable for only a few days. The traces were found on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where more than 700 passengers and crew tested positive for Covid-19; at least 9 have since died. The cabins hadn’t been disinfected when the virus was discovered; it is unclear whether the contaminated surfaces could have transmitted coronavirus throughout that 17-day period. The CDC notes that cruise ships have been a key vector of the disease: At least 15 states have reported cases linked to returning passengers and crew. “Just as mosquitoes spread malaria and ticks spread Lyme disease,” former CDC director Tom Frieden tells USA Today, “cruise ships have been spreading coronavirus.”