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White House Touts Study Hinting Sunlight & Heat Can Weaken Corona

White House Touts Study Hinting Sunlight & Heat Can Weaken Corona

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The US president, on Thursday, 23 April touted a new study conducted by the Science and Technology Directorate of the US Department of Homeland Security suggesting sunlight, heat and humidity can create conditions that are less favourable for the spread of coronavirus.

The study was detailed out in daily press briefing of the white house coronavirus task force. It is important to note that the results of the said study have not been peer reviewed yet.

"Coronavirus dies at a much more rapid pace when exposed to sunlight and humidity. The virus dies the quickest in direct sunlight. Isopropyl alcohol will kill the virus in 30 seconds," Bill Bryan, the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology told White House reporters in the presence of President Donald Trump.

He further added,

The deadly coronavirus which has so far killed more than 188,000 people globally and infected 2.6 million, “is dying at a much more rapid pace just from exposure to higher temperatures and just from exposure to humidity,” he said referring to the study.

“We know that summer-like conditions are going to create an environment where the transmission can be decreased. And that's an opportunity for us to get ahead,” Bryan said.

Sunlight, high temperature of more than 95 degrees Fahrenheit (or 35 degrees Celsius), and humidity cuts the half-life of the virus on surfaces from up to 18 hours to a matter of minutes, the study said.

According to the US Weather Channel the maximum temperature in New Delhi on Friday is expected to be 98 degrees Fahrenheit.

When the virus is exposed to sunlight, in addition to temperatures above 75 degrees with a humidity of about 80 degrees, it can die in minutes, Bryan said.

However, he clarified that he was not suggesting or making any recommendations on the social mitigation guidelines which includes social distancing.

“Mr. President while there are many unknown links in the COVID-19 transmission chain we believe these trends can support practical decision-making to lower the risk associated with the virus,” Bryan told the president.

This, he said has a number of some practical applications.

“For example increasing the temperature and humidity of potentially contaminated indoor spaces appears to reduce the stability of the virus and extra care may be warranted for dry environments that do not have exposure to solar light,” he added.

Bryan said his department is also testing disinfectants, readily available.

“We have tested bleach, we have tested isopropyl alcohol on the virus specifically in saliva or respiratory fluids," he said.

The study, he said has identified some of the weak links in the chain that the transmission of the virus depends upon.

“We identified that heat and humidity is a weakness in that chain. We've identified that sunlight, solar light, UV rays is a weakness in the chain,” he said.

To all of this, President Trump said, “I just threw it out as a suggestion, but it seems like that’s the case, because when it’s on a surface, that would last for a long time. When that surface is outside, it goes very quickly. It dies very quickly with the sun”, reported Washington Post.

In February, Trump had received a lot of criticism upon saying virus can go away due to the heat.

(With inputs from PTI)

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