Coronavirus dies in sunlight: US study

Sunlight could kill the coronavirus within minutes, the US Department of Homeland Security revealed Thursday, a report in The Sun said.

The game-changing findings of the joint effort between the DHS’s Science and Technology directorate and US President Donald Trump‘s coronavirus task force were revealed at Thursday’s White House press briefing.

“I once mentioned that maybe it does go away with light,” President Donald Trump said at his Thursday’s briefing. “Maybe the fake news didn’t like the suggestion that it goes away with light,” he added.

New research from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology directorate found that high humidity, temperatures, and sunlight kill the virus in saliva droplets on non-porous surfaces and in the air, The Sun reported.

“Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have in killing the virus on surfaces and in the air,” said DHS Science and Technology Advisor Bill Bryan. “We’ve seen a similar effect as well where increasing the temperature and humidity or both are generally less favourable to the virus.”

The virus dies quickest in the presence of direct sunlight, and it survives best in indoor conditions, the study found.

DHS and the White House coronavirus task force will continue to look at how the virus in saliva and how it reacts to other disinfectants.

Although “summer-like conditions” will leads to a decrease in virus transmissions, Bryan said Americans aren’t yet in the clear to return back to normal outings.

“It would be irresponsible to say the summer will kill the virus and it’s a free for all and people ignore guidance,” Bryan said.

“That’s not the case.”

The DHS findings were no surprised to President Trump, who made sure to point out he had made a similar observation at an earlier coronavirus presser.

“I once mentioned that maybe it does go away with light,” he said at Thursday’s briefing. “Maybe the fake news didn’t like the suggestion that it goes away with light.”