By Sonali PaulMELBOURNE (Reuters) – The infection that causes COVID-19 can make it through on banknotes, glass and stainless steel for approximately 28 days, much longer than the flu virus, Australian researchers said on Monday, highlighting the need for cleaning and handwashing to fight the virus.Researchers at Australias national science company, CSIRO, found that at 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) the SARS-COV-2 infection remained infectious for 28 days on smooth surface areas such as plastic banknotes and glass found on cellphone screens. The research study was published in Virology Journal.By comparison, Influenza An infection has actually been discovered to make it through on surface areas for 17 days.CSIROs research study included drying infection in an artificial mucus on a series of surfaces at concentrations similar to samples from COVID-19 clients and then extracting the virus after a month.Experiments carried out in controlled lab environments at 20, 30 and 40 degrees C showed that the survival time decreased as the temperature increased.” Establishing for how long the virus truly stays viable on surfaces enables us to more properly anticipate and alleviate its spread and do a much better job of protecting our people,” CSIRO Chief Executive Larry Marshall said in a statement.Proteins and fats in body fluids can also greatly increase virus survival times.” The research study may also assist to explain the apparent persistence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 in cool environments with high lipid or protein contamination, such as meat processing facilities, and how we may better deal with that danger,” said Trevor Drew, director of the CSIROs Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness.Australia has fared far better than many other abundant nations in combating COVID-19, with a total of about 27,000 infections and 898 deaths in a population of 25 million.The epicentre of the nations 2nd wave of infection, Victoria state, reported 15 brand-new cases on Monday, well shy of a target of less than five which the government has set for the easing of a tough lockdown in the state capital Melbourne.Story continuesNew South Wales, the most populated state, reported 6 new cases on Monday, 5 of whom were returned tourists in quarantine.( Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Stephen Coates).