I agree with a lot of what you say, but as for how long viruses stay alive on surfaces, it depends upon the virus. Hepatitis B, for instance, can stay alive on a dry surface for weeks and months, if I recall my microbiology correctly. I thought I read that Covid19 has a relatively short lifespan on surfaces, but then, one hears so many different things about it, there is really no way to tell which information is true.
True, this is new, and we are learning about it. Reminds me of the Norwalk virus.