A US Study Found That Sunlight Can Possibly Kill Coronavirus. Here’s What We Know So Far!

Many are hopeful that the spread of COVID-19 can be curbed during the summer season as a new research found that sunlight can kill it fast. 

As stated in an ABS-CBN News article on the statement by global news agency Agence France-Presse, William Bryan of the Department of Homeland Security in the US recently informed reporters about the new findings at the White House, emphasizing the huge impact that ultraviolet rays could have in destroying the deadly virus—whether it be on surfaces or in the air. “We’ve seen a similar effect with both temperature and humidity as well, where increasing the temperature and humidity or both is generally less favorable to the virus,” added Bryan.

The study, conducted at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, showed that “the virus’s half-life—the time taken for it to reduce to half its amount—was 18 hours when the temperature was 70 to 75 degress Farenheit (21 to 24 degrees Celsius) with 20 percent humidity on a non-porous surface,” the article said, referring to surfaces such as stainless steel and door handles. When humidity was up by 80 percent, however, the half-life went down by six hours within two minutes of exposure to sunlight.

Likewise, the researchers determined that the half-life of the aerosolized virus was reduced to one and a half minutes with sunlight—a huge difference from its half-life at one hour, when the temperature was 70 to 75 degrees with a humidity of 20 percent.

While it was concluded that hot weather and similar situations can reduce the risk of infection or transmission, it’s important to note that it cannot get knocked out entirely with such and social distancing protocols can be disregarded at this time. "It would be irresponsible for us to say that we feel that the summer is just going to totally kill the virus and then if it's a free-for-all and that people ignore those guides," the U.S. official stressed.

As responsible citizens, we must stay hopeful, but keep our guard up even during the hot and sunny summer weeks ahead—practice exceptional personal hygiene, keep surroundings and belongings sanitized, eat well, boost immune system, practice social distancing, wear a mask especially when out of the house, and stay home!