Researchers and doctors from China and Australia have connected heat and warm weather with a slowdown in the spread of COVID-19.
Scientists from China’s Tsinghua University and Beihang University believe that heat and high relative humidity limits the spread of the disease.
“High temperature and high relative humidity significantly reduce the transmission of COVID-19, respectively, even after controlling for population density and GDP per capita of cities,” according to the Chinese researchers.
This is consistent with the fact that the high temperature and high humidity reduce the transmission of the common flu, they say in a report.
(Photo: N509FZ/Wikimedia Commons)
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“The virus hates heat.”
Meanwhile, the following information comes from an internal staff e-mail from St George Hospital, in Sydney, Australia.
“The virus hates heat …Therefore, hot drinks such as infusions, broths or simply hot water should be consumed abundantly during the day.”
The data analysis conducted by the Chinese research team is by no means a definitive piece of work. The same is true for the information relayed in the internal e-mail from St George Hospital.
Warm weather will neither stop nor contain coronavirus, according to currently available information.
Nevertheless, both the doctors from St George Hospital and the scientists from China appear to have concluded that heat slows the spread of the virus.
If true, this could help medical services cope with the growing number of patients suffering from the disease.
“Sunbathe and stay hydrated.”
In fact, the internal e-mail from St George Hospital goes even further, advising members of the staff to sunbathe when possible.
“The Sun’s UV rays kill the virus and the vitamin D is good for you,” says the electronic document.
Staying adequately hydrated is also important. The e-mail recommends that staff drink a sip of water every 15 minutes.
“Keep washing those hands!”
The transmission of the virus usually occurs by direct infection: touching fabrics, tissues, or materials on which the virus is present.
From the hands, the virus can reach the eyes, nostrils, and mouth when you touch your face.
The St George Hospital document says the virus survives for up to 12 hours on hard surfaces.
The e-mail advises hospital staff to wash and disinfect their hands after touching doors, appliances, and railings, among others.
“The virus can live nested in clothes and tissues between 6 and 12 hours,” says the e-mail. “Common detergents can kill it. Things that cannot be washed should be exposed to the Sun and the virus will die.”
The simplest way to distinguish coronavirus from the common cold is that the COVID-19 infection does not cause a cold or cough with cold.
Instead, people infected with the virus endure a dry, rough cough, according to the St George Hospital e-mail.
The virus is usually first lodged in the throat causing inflammation and a feeling of dryness. This symptom can last between 3 and 4 days.
The virus then travels through the moisture present in the airways, goes down to the trachea, and settles in the lungs, causing pneumonia.
Pneumonia is made manifest by a high fever and difficulty breathing.
