Sunlight does kill the coronavirus. But not in the way Trump suggested

‘Half the virus may be killed in as little as two minutes if it’s on a surface exposed to sunlight and high humidity at room temperature. That's according to lab studies conducted the Department of Homeland Security and detailed at a White House coronavirus briefing last week. Under drier, shady conditions, the virus’s half-life is far greater — around 18 hours.’

Read here (Washington Post, April 27, 2020)

Could the power of the sun slow the coronavirus?

‘Dr. Merow said that although the lethal effects of ultraviolet light on viruses are well-known, he and his colleague were surprised to find a seasonal drop evident on a global scale... Dr. Merow said he and his colleague had mined existing studies on how environmental and ecological factors correlate with virus infection rates and used them in ecological modeling of the global repercussions. Global data on temperatures, humidity, the penetration through the atmosphere of sunlight’s ultraviolet rays, population ages and densities, and Covid-19 infection counts were combined into a computer model that mapped out the seasonal trends, he said. Dr. Merow noted that the study’s range of uncertainty was considerable, such that, depending on the location within the United States, the chance of seeing no viral slowdown in the summer ranged from 20 percent to 40 percent.’

Read here (New York Times, April 20, 2020)