How long can covid-19 cause infection from touching surfaces?

Early in the pandemic, there were concerns that coronavirus might be caught from contaminated surfaces. It is now clear hat there is little or no risk from surfaces; almost nobody has been infected that way. Masking, social distancing, and vaccination are the important things. It's common sense to wash or use hand gel after touching public surfaces, but don't worry if you sometimes forget.

Most transmission is not from touching surfaces. Per WEBMD, the virus may live on stainless steel - 2 to 3 days, a # of other metals -5 days, Aluminum - 2 to 8 hrs, Copper - 4 hrs, wood - 4 days, plastic -2 to 3 days, cardboard - 24 hrs & glass - up to 5 days. REF: https://www.webmd.com/lung/how-long-covid-19-lives-on-surfaces