US Science Advisor Says Coronavirus Destroyed By Sunlight

By Staff, Agencies

The COVID-19 coronavirus cannot survive for long under sunlight, a senior US official said Thursday, citing a study that is yet to be made available to the public or complete an external evaluation.

William Bryan, science and technology advisor to the Department of Homeland Security secretary, told the media that research conducted by the US government found that the virus dies off if exposed to ultraviolet rays.

"Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have on killing the virus, both surfaces and in the air," Bryan asserted.

According to the advisor, a coronavirus colony was reduced to half of its initial size in just one and a half minutes when exposed to high humidity and UV radiation.

"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," he added.

While the announcement offers hope that the outbreak would be greatly rolled back in summer, a key matter to look at when the research becomes public is whether the UV rays used in the experiment accurately simulated the intensity of the actual sunlight.

It has long been known that ultraviolet light has a sterilizing effect, because the radiation damages the virus genetic material and its ability to replicate.