^I certainly hope people aren't that misinformed about how long a virus can live on surfaces or airborne. A virus needs living cells to survive long-term. We wipe down door knobs, our phones, remote controls, etc. because we touch those surfaces frequently and viruses have been shown to be able to survive for a couple of days on those surfaces. But the virus can't live forever without live cells to invade.
So, unless you're doing an open house in the couple of days immediately after death -- which you aren't. Even with a will, you have to go to court to determine the executor of the estate as well as the inheritors -- there isn't a risk. You also probably won't be able to remove items from an apartment in a coop before all the court stuff regarding naming an executor is sorted out. The coop's know they have a legal responsibility to keep the property in question where it is until it's been settled in court (lest family with access to the apartment come over and take items that were supposed to be inherited by someone else).
So unless family is deeply misinformed about the non-risk of contamination, doesn't seem like an issue to me.
http://jamaicahospital.org/newsletter/how-long-can-viruses-live-outside-the-body/
The life of a virus (technically, viruses are not alive) depends on what type of virus it is, the conditions of the environment it is in, as well as the type of surface it is on.
Cold viruses have been shown to survive on indoor surfaces for approximately seven days. Flu viruses, however, are active for only 24 hours.
All viruses have the potential to live on hard surfaces, such as metal and plastic, longer than on fabrics and other soft surfaces. In fact, infectious flu viruses can survive on tissues for only 15 minutes. Viruses tend to also live longer in areas with lower temperatures, low humidity, and low sunlight.
