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Expert that summer conditions in the northern hemisphere ‘will create an environment with reducible transmission’
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The new coronavirus is quickly destroyed by sunlight, according to a study announced by a United States official on Thursday (23). The announcement brings hope that the spread of the virus may decrease during the summer. According to Department of Homeland Security science and technology consultant William Bryan, government scientists have discovered that ultraviolet rays have a powerful impact.
“Our most impressive observation to date is the powerful effect that sunlight appears to have on the death of the virus, both on the surface and in the air,” he said during a White House press conference. “We saw a similar effect with temperature and humidity. The increase in one or the other is generally less favorable for the virus.”
On a slide summarizing the results, Bryan showed that the half-life of the virus, the time it takes to cut its quantity in half, was 18 hours when the temperature was between 21ºC and 24ºC, with a humidity of 20 % on a non-porous surface. This includes surfaces such as door handles and stainless steel. But the half-life was reduced to six hours when the humidity increased to 80%; and only two minutes when sunlight was added to the equation.
When the virus was suspended in air, in aerosol, the half-life was one hour when the temperature was between 21ºC and 24ºC, with 20% humidity. In the presence of sunlight, the time was reduced to just a minute and a half.
Bryan concluded that the summer conditions “will create an environment with a transmission that can be reduced.” However, he cautioned that reduced spread does not mean that the pathogen will be completely eliminated and that social distance measures can be suspended.
