New Delhi: Preliminary results from government lab experiments conducted by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) show the coronavirus can be ‘quickly’ destroyed by sunlight.
The study found that the risk of “transmission from surfaces outdoors is lower during daylight” and under higher temperature and humidity conditions. “Sunlight destroys the virus quickly,” reads the briefing.
However, the unpublished documents also state that the results have yet to be proven nor does this not mean the world will see a drop in new cases if they are.
The results showed:
- Virus lives longer at low humidity and inactivates faster at higher humidity
- Virus lives longer at low temperatures and inactivates faster as temperature increases
- Sunlight destroys the virus quickly
The study also pointed out Operational Relevance of the results as stated below:
- Risk of transmission from surfaces outdoors is lower during daylight
- Higher temperature and humidity of indoor environments will reduce the viral contamination on surfaces faster
- Surfaces in low humidity environments (e.g., airplane cabins) may require additional care to minimize risk of transmission
While that may provide some good news about the outlook for outdoor activities, the Department of Homeland Security briefing on the results cautions that enclosed areas with low humidity, such as airplane cabins, “may require additional care to minimize risk of transmission.”
Harvey Fineberg, head of the National Academies Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats, conveyed in a letter to the White House on April 7th that the DHS plans to conduct more laboratory tests to confirm the validity of the findings.
The study corroborates the findings of Dr. Cameron Kyle-Sidell treating COVID-19 patients in New York City’s Maimonides Medical Center who claimed that COVID-19 patients need Oxygen therapy not Ventilator.
While the lab results are new, scientists for many weeks have predicted, based on available data on the disease’s spread, that warmer, wetter climates would be less hospitable to the spread of the coronavirus. An early analysis by scientists observed that the virus was spreading more slowly in countries with warmer climates.
