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WASHINGTON :
The coronavirus appears to weaken more rapidly when exposed to sunlight, heat and humidity, a US official said Thursday in a possible sign that the pandemic could become less contagious in the summer months.
US government researchers USA They have determined that the virus survives better indoors and in dry conditions, and loses power when temperatures and humidity rise, and especially when exposed to sunlight, said William Bryan, acting chief of the Department of Science and Technology at the Department of US National Security USA Address.
“The virus dies faster in the presence of direct sunlight,” he said at a press conference at the White House.
The findings could raise hopes that the coronavirus will mimic the behavior of other respiratory illnesses such as influenza, which are generally less contagious in hot climates.
But the coronavirus has also been lethal in hot climates like Singapore, raising wider questions about the impact of environmental factors.
President Donald Trump said the findings should be interpreted with caution, but he also called for the claim by previously suggesting that the coronavirus could roll back in the summer.
“I once mentioned that maybe it disappears in heat and light. And people didn’t like that statement very much,” he said in the briefing.
Sixteen states of EE. USA They are preparing plans to restart their economies and facilitate regulations designed to stem the spread of the pandemic. Georgia and South Carolina are allowing some companies to reopen this week, a move that health officials say could lead to more deaths because they don’t have enough evidence to assess how many people are infected.
The Trump administration says states must wait until they have evidence that infection rates have steadily declined for two weeks.
Vice President Mike Pence said states should allow hospitals and other medical facilities to resume elective surgeries, a major source of revenue that some governors have banned to keep hospitals free of coronavirus patients.
Trump said Americans may need to maintain social distancing in early summer, despite some states showing signs of progress.
Trump has encouraged protests against social distancing restrictions in some states. But he criticized Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a fellow Republican, for moving too fast.
“I want people in Georgia to be safe, and I don’t want this situation to explode because you are deciding to do something that is not on the guidelines,” he said.
More than 874,000 people in the United States are known to have been infected and more than 49,600 have died of COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to a Reuters count.
18 HOURS AGAINST TWO MINUTES
On non-porous surfaces like stainless steel, it takes 18 hours for the new coronavirus to lose half its strength in a dark, low-humidity environment, Bryan said.
In a high humidity environment, that half-life was reduced to six hours, and when the virus was exposed to high humidity and sunlight, the half-life was reduced to two minutes, he said.
The researchers found a similar effect with the coronavirus that was suspended in midair, simulating the cough or sneeze that often spread the disease. In a dark room, the virus maintained half its strength for an hour. But when exposed to sunlight, he lost half his strength in 90 seconds, Bryan said.
The researchers also found that isopropyl alcohol was a more effective disinfectant than chlorine, he said.
Trump said investigators should try to apply their findings to coronavirus patients by inserting light or disinfectant into their bodies.
“Is there any way we can do something like that by injection, in, or almost cleaning?” he said. “It would be interesting to see that.”
This story has been published from a source of the cable agency without modifications to the text. Only the owner has been changed.
