Smartphone users warned about 'cocktail of germs' hiding on handsets

Researchers from Bond University in Australia have warned phones can harbour a staggering cocktail of live germs, including Covid, and are advising users to regularly decontaminate devices. Dr Lotti Tajouri, who led the study, described smartphones as ‘five-star hotels with premium heated spas, free buffet for microbes to thrive on’. “And nobody - absolutely nobody - washes or decontaminates their phone.” Dr Tajouri added that some smartphone users touch their devices up to 5,000 times a day. Dr Tajouri said: “The extraordinarily fast contagion that has scientists puzzled might reside within these mobile phones spreading COVID-19 everywhere at ultra-speed.