Coronavirus can stay in the air for up to 2 hours indoors after being breathed out. This means that the virus may stay in the air in your home even after an infected person has left the room.
There are several things you can do to lower the amount of virus that collects in the air or on surfaces in your home. The ideas in this section may feel a bit strange in your home, but they can really help stop the virus spreading.
Regularly opening windows is an easy way to stop the virus collecting in the air. If it is cold outside, you could open a window in one room, particularly if you’re planning to spend time in there with a visitor. Shutting the door to the rest of your home will reduce the amount of heat lost whilst still letting fresh air into that room.
If you're meeting with visitors inside your home, you could choose to sit in a room that is easier to heat up afterwards, or one that you don’t usually spend much time in.
If you or someone you live with is at risk of becoming very ill from Coronavirus, having windows open when you want or need to spend time in a room together can make this safer.
This is especially important if:
- One of you thinks you might have Coronavirus or have been in contact with someone who has
- One of you has recently visited an indoor place with people from lots of other households (e.g. supermarket)