Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Microbiology 2008-3289 14 5 2022 10 22 617 623 Farzad Ziarani Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran Alireza Tahamtan Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran Hasan Safari Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Environmental Health Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran Alijan Tabarraei Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran Yousef Shahamat Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Environmental Health Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran 2021 12 13 2022 09 02 Background and Objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic caused by the novel virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Knowing the virus's behavior and its persistence in different environments are crucial and will lead to the proper management of the disease. In this study, air, surface, and sewage samples were taken from different parts of referral hospitals for COVID-19. Materials and Methods: Air samples were taken with impinger, surface samples with swabs, and sewage samples were taken from the hospital wastewater treatment plant. After viral genome extraction, a real-time RT-PCR test was applied to confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the collected samples. Results: The virus genome could be traced in the wards and wastewater related to hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Overally, 29%, 16%, and 37.5% of air, surface, and sewage samples were positive for the SARS-CoV-2 genome, respectively. Conclusion: Findings of such studies provide valuable results regarding the degree of contamination of hospital environments and the risk of virus transmission in different environments and among hospital staff and patients. https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/view/3473 https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/download/3473/1498