[ad_1]
(CNN) – Sunlight and chlorine can kill the new coronavirus, a federal official said at the White House daily briefing on Thursday. But United States President Donald Trump turned what should have been a simple scientific summary into a bewildering stream of dangerous ideas about light transmission to the body and suggestions about disinfectant injection.
This is what was said and what science really tells us about killing the virus safely.
Bill Bryan, a senior official with the US Department of Homeland Security. The US said that studies on the virus showed that chlorine kills the coronavirus in about five minutes, and that isopropyl alcohol destroys it even faster. Tests showed that the virus in saliva drops survives better indoors and in dry conditions.
“The virus dies faster in the presence of direct sunlight under these conditions,” he said.
Bryan, who is not a scientist, said a US Army biological laboratory. USA on the outskirts of Washington D.C. he had been evaluating the virus.
“Our most surprising 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. Temperature and humidity also affect how long the virus survives, Bryan said.
Vice President Mike Pence called Bryan’s presentation “encouraging news about the impact of heat and sunlight on the coronavirus, which will boost our confidence about next summer.”
Bryan called it “another weapon in the fight that we can add and in the summer.” But he added: “It would be irresponsible for us to say that we believe that summer will totally kill the virus. However, we have the opportunity to move forward with what we know now and take it into account in decision-making. ”
Earlier this month, members of an influential committee of the National Academy of Sciences told the White House in a letter that the coronavirus does not appear to disappear once the weather warms, writing: “There is some evidence to suggest than [el coronavirus] can be transmitted less efficiently in environments with higher ambient temperature and humidity, however, given the lack of host immunity globally, this reduction in transmission efficiency may not lead to a significant reduction in disease spread without the concomitant adoption of important public health interventions. ” The panel noted that the virus continued to spread in countries experiencing hot weather.
READ: Prestigious Scientific Panel Tells White House Coronavirus Won’t Disappear in Warmer Climate
But how the virus reacts in a laboratory is not necessarily relevant to how it is transmitted. It can be transmitted in very small particles of saliva or mucus that are sprayed from people’s mouths when they speak or cough, or from their noses when they sneeze. But the particles don’t stay in the air for long, and they fall to the ground.
The danger of contracting the virus comes from being in close contact with someone who is infected and emitting particles through the nose and mouth, or touching something that the virus-laden particles have landed on.
Trump’s opinion
The findings that Bryan shared are not surprising. Scientists have long known that chemicals like bleach can kill viruses, including coronaviruses, as well as ultraviolet light.
What was perhaps surprising during Thursday’s briefing was President Trump’s opinion on Bryan’s comments.
“Suppose we hit the body in tremendous light, either ultraviolet or just very powerful, and I think you said it hasn’t been reviewed and you’re going to test it,” Trump told Bryan. “Suppose you can carry light inside your body.”
It was not immediately clear how Trump would propose bringing light to the body.
“And then I see the disinfectant knock him out in a minute. Is there a way that we can do something like that by injection or almost cleaning?… It would be interesting to see that, “added Trump.
Trump’s statement echoes myths and rumors that became so rampant on the Internet and on social media that the World Health Organization published myth hunter pages to disprove them.
“Exposure to the sun or temperatures above 25 ° C does NOT prevent coronavirus disease,” says the WHO on its website. “You can get covid-19, no matter how sunny or hot the weather is. Countries with warm weather have reported cases of covid-19 ”, he adds.
It also specifically cautions against using ultraviolet lamps, including tanning lamps, to try to kill the virus. “UV lamps should not be used to sterilize hands or other skin areas as UV radiation can cause skin irritation,” says the WHO.
Ultraviolet light damages the skin and causes cancer if people are exposed too much.
And the chlorine is toxic. It can and does kill people who drink it. The US Food and Drug Administration. USA It regularly warns the public against consuming chlorine or even inhaling chlorine fumes. It is also irritating to the skin.
Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USA (CDC) said calls for cleaner and disinfectant poisonings had increased more than 20% in the first three months of 2020, as cleanup by the coronavirus increased, which in the same time period of the year previous. Among cleaners, bleaches accounted for the largest percentage increase in calls between 2019 and 2020.
The CDC recommends using soap and water or bleach to kill the virus. Rubbing alcohol with at least 70% alcohol will also kill you on the surfaces; 60% for your hands.
