The metal is naturally antimicrobial and self-sterilizing.
Copper is antimicrobial. Bacteria and viruses die within hours of coming into contact with copper; E.coli, listeria, MRSA, and staphylococcus are killed with minutes. The medical benefits of copper have been known for millennia, in fact, as the Egyptians used copper to sterilize their wounds and their water supply 2,000 years before Jesus. In the era of a highly contagious global pandemic, when we’ve never been more aware of the need to scrub the webs between our fingers for 20 seconds, every little change helps. It might be time for copper to make a triumphant return to our homes and our hospitals, as a recent Fast Company article argued.
The expert the magazine spoke with, Bill Keevil from the University of Southampton, has even conducted research where another coronavirus was "inactivated" when it came in contact with copper. While the same test hasn't yet been run on COVID-19, copper's medical benefits are so well documented it certainly couldn't hurt to have more of it around.
