SARS-CoV-2 : a critical review of preventive and control measures in the context of the virus' characteristics

Alič, Manca (author), Ovca, Andrej (author)

The year 2020 has been marked by the novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic on the 11th of March 2020 due to the spread of this very contagious virus throughout the world. Since the outbreak, we have gained many insights about the virus, its presence and persistence in the environment and its possible and most common transmission routes. Such knowledge about the virus is invaluable for establishing effective preventive and control measures (also referred to as Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs)) that have become a key to tackling this pandemic in the absence of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. In this review, we discuss five main groups of NPIs: 1) ventilation, 2) cleaning and disinfection, 3) hand hygiene, 4) physical distancing, and 5) protective masks. We explore their shortcomings and potential negative consequences that might occur as unwanted side effects.

• Language: English
• Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, transmission routes, presence, persistence, preventive measures, NPIs
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: ZF - Faculty of Health Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: Str. 17-39
• Numbering: Vol. 14, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-125879
• UDC: 614.44:616-036.22
• ISSN on article: 1854-0678
• DOI: 10.2478/ijser-2020-0003
• COBISS.SI-ID: 58862851
• Publication date in RUL: 09.04.2021

ALIČ, Manca and OVCA, Andrej, 2020, SARS-CoV-2 : a critical review of preventive and control measures in the context of the virus’ characteristics. Sanitarno inženirstvo [online]. 2020. Vol. 14, no. 1, p. 17–39. [Accessed 1 April 2025]. DOI 10.2478/ijser-2020-0003. Retrieved from: https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=125879

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Sanitarno inženirstvo
• Publisher: Inštitut za sanitarno inženirstvo, Zbornica sanitarnih inženirjev Slovenije
• ISSN: 1854-0678
• COBISS.SI-ID: 216969216

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.
• Licensing start date: 09.04.2021

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, poti prenosa, prisotnost, obstojnost, preventivni ukrepi

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P3-0388
• Name: Mehanizmi varovanja zdravja