Summer weather could help slow the coronavirus. But it’s likely not enough.
Some Americans are hoping for a natural reprieve to social distancing as the coronavirus pandemic drags on: that sunnier, warmer, and more humid weather in the summer will destroy the Covid-19 virus — as it does with other viruses, like the flu — and let everyone go back to normal.
There is some evidence that heat, humidity, and ultraviolet light could hurt the coronavirus — an idea that President Donald Trump bizarrely leaned into when he suggested the use of “ultraviolet or just very powerful light … inside the body” to treat people sickened by Covid-19 (an idea with no scientific merit, as experts have repeatedly stated).
But even if heat, humidity, and light help slow the virus’s spread, sunny, hot, and humid weather alone won’t be enough to end the epidemic. Experts point to the examples of Singapore, Ecuador, and Louisiana, all of which have recently had growing numbers of Covid-19 cases despite temperatures hitting 80-plus degrees Fahrenheit and humidity levels reaching more than 60, 70, or even 80 percent.
High levels of heat, UV light, and humidity can help prevent more widespread infections of the flu or colds in the summer, along with medical treatments and vaccines (when available). But the Covid-19 coronavirus is still new to humans, so we don’t have as much immune protection built up against it — so the virus seems able to overcome summer-like weather and still cause big outbreaks…
To read entire article from Vox, click https://www.vox.com/2020/4/29/21231906/coronavirus-pandemic-summer-weather-heat-humidity-uv-light
