Risk of fomite mediated transmission of SARS CoV 2 in child daycares, schools, and offices: a modeling study

SARS-CoV-2 can persist on surfaces, suggesting that surface-based transmission might be important for this pathogen. We find that fomites may be a substantial source of risk, particularly in schools and child daycares. Combining surface cleaning and decontamination with strategies to reduce pathogen shedding on surfaces can help mitigate this risk. ### Competing Interest Statement Dr. Lopman reports grants and personal fees from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, personal fees from World Health Organization, outside the submitted work. ### Funding Statement This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (to A.N.M.K. and B.A.L., grant supplement to R01GM124280; to J.S.S., grant 2T32ES012870-16), the National Institute of Food and Agriculture at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (J.S.L. and B.A.L, grant 2018-07410; J.S.S., grant 2020-67034-31728). ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The research study does not include primary data on human subjects and is therefore exempt from IRB approval. All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data used in the manuscript are taken from published studies cited in the text.