According to Chinese state media, nucleic acid of the novel coronavirus was found at a patient's home.

It is the first time that scientists in Guangzhou have found the virus in an external environment.

An official for the Disease Control and Prevention Centre in Guangzhou said that they found the nucleic acid of the novel coronavirus on a doorknob at the house of a patient diagnosed with the disease.

Nucleic acids are basically the building blocks of the RNA or DNA.

According to China Daily, the discovery has prompted the public to "pay more attention to hand hygiene and other indirect transmissions of the virus".

According to CGTN, the official listed "mobile phones, keyboards and faucet handles" as other areas prone to contamination.

While the official number of days the virus can survive on a surface has yet to be confirmed, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong mentioned in parliament that the rough estimate right now is about two to three days.

Two days was also the amount of time SARS was able to survive on plastic surfaces back in 2003.

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