Risk factors for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA environmental contamination in rooms of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

The risk factors of environmental contamination by SARS-CoV-2 are largely unknown. We analyzed 1,320 environmental samples obtained from COVID-19 patients over 1 year. The risk factors for contamination of COVID-19 patients' surrounding environment were higher viral load in the respiratory tract and shorter duration from symptom onset to sample collection.