Packet of 50 MediKills surface disinfecting and cleaning wet wipes, 'Proven to kill live SARS-COV-2 viruses in 30 seconds', made in Israel for Dynamic Wipe Industries Ltd, London, 2020

COVID-19 spreads mainly through the air. When someone with the disease breathes, speaks, coughs or sneezes, they release respiratory particles carrying the virus. Others can catch COVID-19 by breathing in these particles.

In the early months of the pandemic, public health messaging focused strongly on handwashing and surface cleaning as strategies to prevent infection. Responding to widely publicised studies indicating that COVID-19 could survive on some surfaces for hours or days, health agencies advised sanitising communal touchpoints such as door handles and lift buttons. Sales of antimicrobial surface cleaning wipes boomed, and many people disinfected or quarantined their post and grocery deliveries.

Aerosols (infectious particles suspended in the air) are now known to play a major role in spreading the disease. While it is possible to become infected through exposure to contaminated surfaces, the risk is considered low.

Even so, global demand for disinfectant wipes is expected to remain high for years. Microplastic fibre pollution from degraded wipes is a significant environmental issue that has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.