•COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory illness, which is mainly transmitted directly from person-to-person via droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose. Less frequent routes may be transmission of virus particles directly via aerosols and indirectly via cross-contamination of for instance surfaces. The virus may cause illness when it gains access to the lungs and other tissues through the respiratory tract and the mucosal tissues of healthy people. Illness may vary from very mild to severe, even resulting in death.
•While the illness varies in severity, to cause infection, both the presence of viable virus particles and a sufficiently high numbers of viable particles is required. The higher the viable number (or dose) present, the more likely infection is and the more likely the outcome may be severe. Virus particles may survive for hours to days on surfaces, but dramatically lose viability and number.
•There is no evidence that food is a source or important transmission route for the COVID-19 illness. The presence of viable virus particles on food is low and the virus cannot multiply in foods. Food is often treated such that micro-organisms, including viruses, are killed or inactivated. Once food is eaten, it enters the gastro-intestinal tract where the gastric acids of the stomach likely will inactivate the viruses.
