The strong summer sun is capable of wiping out 90 percent or more of coronavirus living on surfaces in just 34 minutes, a new study has found.
Scientists suggest that “midday sunlight in most US and world cities during summer” is extremely effective in inactivating the virus that causes COVID-19 when it’s been coughed or sneezed onto a surface, according to the study published earlier this month.
It found the virus is most infectious from December until March — when it can live on surfaces for up to a day or more “with risk of re-aerosolization and transmission in most of these cities.”
The study, which appeared in the journal Photochemistry and Photobiology, was authored by Jose-Luis Sagripanti and David Lytle — scientists who are retired from the US Army and Food and Drug Administration, respectively.
The pair examined how well UVB in sunlight was in destroying the virus in various cities across the globe during different times of the year. They used a model that’s previously estimated solar inactivation of viruses like Ebola and Lassa.
The study also suggests that the mandatory stay-at-home orders issued in hopes of stopping the spread of coronavirus may have been more harmful than good.
“In contrast, healthy people outdoors receiving sunlight could have been exposed to lower viral dose with more chances for mounting an efficient immune response,” the study said.
Past research has shown that during the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918-’19, patients who were exposed to fresh air and sunshine in “open-air hospitals” may have had a better chance at survival.
The new evidence comes months after health experts shot down the idea that the virus doesn’t spread as much in hotter climates.